Lee, Figueroa, Eldridge earn multiple wins at Shore Conference Girls Swimming Championships

NEPTUNE – A senior from Colts Neck broke two Shore Conference records and seniors from Middletown South and Manasquan each won two events during a fast-paced 42nd Annual Shore Conference Girls Swimming Championships on Tuesday night.

Colts Neck’s Arabella Lee was the individual star in winning two events in meet-record times. The Cougars were fifth in the team race.

Middletown South’s Marcella Figueroa proved she was the best sprinter in the Shore Conference with her two wins and she powered the Eagles to this year’s team title.

PREVIEW: Girls swimmers to watch at the 2022 Shore Conference championships

Manasquan’s Sarah Eldridge reinforced her reputation as the best distance swimmer in the Shore Conference with her two wins and she helped the Warriors to a second place finish in the team competition.

Lee has a career performance under the spotlight

Lee came into the meet as the two-time defending Shore Conference champion in the 100 butterfly and as the top contender in the 100 backstroke.

2021 ALL SHORE SWIM TEAMS: NJ girls swimming: 2021 All-Shore teams

“It is really fun being able to race half of the people from my club team. I’m use to racing them every day over and over again,” Lee said. “Now it is different because we have different caps on our heads. Also, being a senior there is a lot of pressure because I’m defending my 100 butterfly title. I was really going for the Shore Conference record.”

And she got it with some style. Lee defeated Rumson-Fair Haven’s Annie Mee, 54.49 to 57.99, to win the 100 butterfly title for the third time in her career and also break the 2016 record of former Shore Regional standout Helen Grossman (55.53). For an encore, Lee defeated (54.84) St. John Vianney’s Tessa Bendokas (58.08) and Toms River South’s Sam Dugan (58.36) in the 100 backstroke to become the new Shore Conference champion and she went into the record book replacing former Trinity Hall standout Caroline Gmelich (55.87) from the 2017 meet.

REVIEW THE DETAILS FROM THE LAST SHORE CONFERENCE MEET: NJ swimming: Multiple swimmers, Colts Neck girls, CBA, experience success at Shore Conference Meet

“Going into the meet, I knew I would be able to break it (the 100 butterfly record) because my best time for my club team is 54.40,” Lee said. “Hearing everyone screaming helped me in the last lap and to bring it home. I was dying on the last lap.”

To complete her evening, Lee swam on the third-place 200 medley relay with Zoe Midura, Lauren Zeni and Quinn Hoagland (1:52.77) and on the fifth place 400 freestyle relay with Catherine Vota, Midura and Hoagland (3:45.74).

“I like the 100 butterfly more because that’s my bread and butter event. Everywhere I swim (club, high school), I swim the 100 butterfly,” Lee said.

Figueroa factors heavily in Eagles success

Figueroa left no doubt who is the best sprinter in the Shore Conference. She followed up her Monmouth County sweep in the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle with victories in the same event at the Shore Conference meet. Figueroa (23.90) defeated Rumson-Fair Haven’s Quinn Rinkus (24.56), Middletown South’s Amelia Obszarny (24.65) and Red Bank’s Vienna Eckerstrom (24.67) in the 50 freestyle. And then Figueroa (52.22) edged St. John Vianney’s Bendokas (53.43) in the 100 freestyle.

“I consider myself a sprinter,” Figueroa said. “Well, I take one breath on the first lap right before the flip and stuff and then coming back, I usually take two breaths and just go for it.”

Figueroa, a Bryant University recruit, became the first girls swimmer to win both the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle at the Shore Conference meet since former Donovan Catholic standout Mia Rankin accomplished the same feat in 2018.

STARS OF THE WEEK: High school winter sports Player of the Week: Every winner of our APP.com weekly polls

“It felt really good (the 50 freestyle). My turns are a little messy but overall it felt good,” Figueroa said. “I added to my personal best but I am happy to go 23 seconds consistently.”

Figueroa augmented her evening with a record-setting performance in the 200 freestyle relay with Obszarny, Katie Fahey and Siara Celentano (1:37.93). The quartet broke the 2017 Manasquan record set by Kathryn Degnan, Marie Schobel, Abby McHugh and Kathryn Petrone.

Eldridge elevates her performance once again

Eldridge, the favorite in the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle, had a clean sweep in those distance events. In the 200 freestyle, she defeated Trinity Hall’s McLane Gmelich, 1:50.74 to 1:55.40, and in the 500 freestyle, she defeated Toms River South’s Dugan, 4:58.16 to 5:05.04. Eldridge, who will swim for the United States Naval Academy, is now a three-time Shore Conference champion in both events.

Eagles fly away with team title

For the first since 2018 and for the third time in school history, according to Middletown South girls swimming coach Denise Skinner, the Eagles can say they are the Shore Conference champions in girls swimming. Middletown South won four events (two individual, two relays) and amassed 328 points to claim the team title.

WHERE ARE SHORE CONFERENCE ATHLETES GOING TO COLLEGE? National Signing Day 2021-22: Which Shore Conference athletes signed?

It is a remarkable accomplishment considering that the Eagles only brought 11 girls to compete at the Shore Conference meet.

“The depth really helped us today. You know coming into this meet I was obviously concerned about Manasquan. They had a great meet at the Monmouth County meet,” Skinner said. “I said to the girls this is like déjà vu all over again. We swam the same events that we swam at the Monmouth County meet. I was impressed with their times and how they did. I said let’s go for it again.”

Manasquan won this year’s Monmouth County team title over Middletown South, 356 to 311, and the Eagles responded with a solid performance at the Shore Conference meet.

“I switched a couple relays around,” Skinner said. “We broke two school records, the 200 freestyle relay record and the 400 freestyle relay record, and set a Shore Conference record (in the 200 freestyle relay) today and I believe that is the first time ever in school history that we did that.”

The Warriors came in second with 260 points buoyed by their four wins (200 medley relay, Sarah Eldridge’s two wins, Dylann Eldridge in the 200 individual medley 2:09.25).

Rinkus rises to the challenge

The 100 breaststroke field was wide open with the defending champion, Colts Neck’s Emma Shaughnessy, now swimming in college. So, Rinkus seized the spotlight when she defeated Red Bank’s Eckerstrom, 1:05.29 to 1:06.75, to claim the title. Rinkus was also this year’s Monmouth County champion in this event.

2022 Shore Conference Girls Swimming results

Team Scores: 1. Middletown South 328; 2. Manasquan 260; 3. Trinity Hall 234; 4. Rumson-Fair Haven 182; 5. Colts Neck 159; 6. Toms River South 94; 7. St. John Vianney 83; 8. Red Bank Catholic 79; 9. Holmdel 78; 10. Red Bank 76; 11. Donovan Catholic 71; 12. Wall 66; 13. Toms River East 60; 14. #tie St. Rose, Southern 59; 16. Shore 53; 17. Marlboro 52; 18. Point Boro 44; 19. Central 43; 20. Toms River North 38; 21. Manchester 24; 22. Brick Memorial 8; 23. Monmouth 7. 24. #tie Ranney School, Brick 6; 26. Freehold Township 1.

Individual Events (For the first 10 places)

200 Medley Relay: 1. Manasquan (Summer Sakowicz, Sarah Eldridge, Caroline Ireland, Dylann Eldridge) 1:49.39; 2. Trinity Hall 1:51.68; 3. Colts Neck 1:52.77; 4. Middletown South 1:54.18; 5. Donovan Catholic 1:54.47; 6. Southern 1:57.33; 7. Toms River South 1:57.67; 8. Wall 1:57.93; 9. Red Bank 1:58.72; 10. St. Rose 2:00.62.

200 Freestyle: 1. Sarah Eldridge (Manasquan) 1:50.74; 2. McLane Gmelich (Trinity Hall) 1:55.40; 3. Morgan Marjamaa (1:58.44;) 4. Maxine Camillone (Trinity Hall) 1:59.58; 5. Annie Wang (Holmdel) 2:00.38; 6. Kaitlyn Culbert (Toms River North) 2:00.72; 7. Katie Fahey (Middletown South) 2:01.36; 8. Kaite Mazzaco (Shore) 2:02.10; 9. Kyle Spalt (Manasquan) 2:02.12; 10. Quinn Hoagland (Colts Neck) 2:02.53.

200 Individual Medley: 1. Dylann Eldridge (Manasquan) 2:09.25; 2. Summer Sakowicz (Manasquan) 2:09.47; 3. Charlotte Trentalage (Red Bank Catholic) 2:10.66; 4. Mia Smith (Trinity Hall) 2:11.66; 5. Eve McGuinness (Middletown South) 2:13.78; 6. Jillian Basile (Trinity Hall) 2:14.11; 7. Maeve Richter (Middletown South) 2:15.10; 8. Molly Westhoven (Central) 2:17.32; 9. Anastasia Vasilakis (Toms River South) 2:18.67; 10. Alexandra Villanueva (Manchester) 2:19.24.

50 Freestyle: 1. Marcella Figueroa (Middletown South) 23.90; 2. Quinn Rinkus (RFH) 24.56; 3. Amelia Obszarny (Middletown South) 24.65; 4. Vienna Eckerstrom (Red Bank) 24.67; 5. Elizabeth Wright (RFH) 25.11; 6. Abigail Michaleson (Middletown South) 25.37; 7. Caroline Irlenand (Manasquan) 25.42; 8. Kindra Pellittiere (RFH) 25.46; 9. Jane Sirotic (Holmdel) 25.53; 10. Gianna Cofone (Trinity Hall) 25.57.

100 Butterfly: 1. Arabella Lee (Colts Neck) 54.49 *-meet record; 2. Annie Mee (RFH) 57.99; 3. Isabella Aguanno (Manasquan) 1:00.41; 4. Caroline Ireland (Manasquan) 1:01.27; 5. Megan Lovasz (Wall) 1:01.39; 6. Kindra Pellittiere (RFH) 1:01.47; 7. Maxine Camillone (Trinity Hall) 1:01.51; 8. Sarah Santos (Point Boro) 1:01.59; 9. Alexandra Villanueva (Manchester) 1:02.12; 10. Maeve Richter (Middletown South) 1:02.20.

100 Freestyle: 1. Marcella Figueroa (Middletown South) 52.22; 2. Tessa Bendokas (St. John Vianney) 53.43; 3. Dylann Eldridge 54.23; 4. Annie Mee (RFH) 54.47; 5. Amelia Obszarny (Middletown South) 55.00; 6. Gianna Cofone (Trinity Hall) 55.08; 7. Katie Fahey (Middletown South) 55.37; 8. Katie Mazzaco (Shore) 56.50; 9. Kaitlyn Culbert (Toms River North) 56.52; 10. Bridget Cleveland (Point Boro) 57.04.

500 Freestyle: 1. Sarah Eldridge (Manasquan) 4:58.16; 2. Sam Dugan (Toms River South) 5:05.04; 3. McLane Gmelich (Trinity Hall) 5:06.46; 4. Morgan Marjamaa (Middletown South) 5:07.41; 5. Annie Wang (Holmdel) 5:09.03; 6. Siara Celentano (Middletown South) 5:23.84; 7. Kylie Spalt (Manasquan) 5:26.10; 8. Trisha Lau (Marlboro) 5:26.77; 9. Molly Westhoven (Central) 5:26.94; 10. Quinn Hoagland (Colts Neck) 5:27.01.

200 Freestyle Relay: 1. Middletown South 1:37.93 (Amelia Obszarny, Katie Fahey, Siara Celentano, Marcella Figueroa) *-meet record; 2. Rumson-Fair Haven 1:38.87; 3. Toms River East 1:45.17; 4. Red Bank Catholic 1:45.49; 5. St. Rose 1:45.65; 6. Trinity Hall 1:45.83; 7. St. John Vianney 1:45.98; 8. Wall 1:46.01; 9. Manasquan 1:46.16; 10. Southern 1:46.79.

100 Backstroke: 1. Arabella Lee (Colts Neck) 54.84 *-meet record; 2. Tessa Bendokas (SJV) 58.08; 3. Sam Dugan (Toms River South) 58.36; 4. Mia Smith (Trinity Hall) 59.98; 5. Charlotte Trentalage (RBC) 1:01.12; 6. Summer Sakowicz (Manasquan) 1:01.14; 7. Sophia Markatos (Donovan Catholic) 1:01.38; 8. Siara Celentano (Middletown South) 1:01.49; 9. Trisha Lau (Marlboro) 1:02.34; 10. Jane Sirotic (Holmdel) 1:02.65.

100 Breaststroke: 1. Quinn Rinkus (Rumson-Fair Haven) 1:05.29; 2. Vienna Eckerstrom (Red Bank) 1:06.75; 3. Lauren Zeni (Colts Neck) 1:07.83; 4. Jillian Basile (Trinity Hall) 1:08.82; 5. Eve McGuinness (Middletown South 1:09.07; 6. Avery Westhoven (Central) 1:09.17; 7. Francesca Fields (Southern) 1:09.52; 8. Sarah Santos (Point Boro) 1:09.54; 9. Bennett DeVincens (Manasquan) 1:10.79; 10. Sarah Weber (Middletown South) 1:12.06.

400 Freestyle Relay: 1. Middletown South (Amelia Obszarny, Katie Fahey, Eve McGuinness, Marcella Figueroa) 3:35.56; 2. Trinity Hall 3:36.19; 3. Manasquan 3:38.61; 4. Rumson-Fair Haven 3:40.72; 5. Colts Neck 3:45.74; 6. Red Bank 3:54.05; 7. Holmdel 3:54.25; 8. St. John Vianney 3:54.38; 9. Toms River South 3:54.82; 10. Red Bank Catholic 3:55.06.

Sherlon Christie is a sports reporter at the Asbury Park Press and has covered sports at the Jersey Shore since 2004. Don't miss any of his coverage by subscribing at https://subscribe.app.com/. You can contact him via e-mail at schristie@gannettnj.com, on Twitter at https://twitter.com/sherlonapp, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sherlonapp and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sherlon_christie

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ Girls Swimming Championships: Arabella Lee of Colts Neck shines