Raekwon Noel always looks like he's ready for the podium.
The Highland senior capped off a successful college career by winning two more medals at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions held at Gloucester Polytechnic Institute in Deptford. Noelle placed fifth in the 200-yard freestyle and fourth in the butterfly, earning her recognition as one of the Tartans' greatest swimmers, if not the greatest of all time.
The Meet of Champions brought together all the great swimmers from all over New Jersey to showcase their talents. She will have eight swimmers, or relays, compete in each race for all-state bragging rights. In a one-year experiment, MOC would preferably feature her A finals for both boys and girls in one session, but not the B finals.
“It’s just a fun environment for me,” Noel said. “I'm really proud of what I accomplished. I plan on going back to college and swimming the (200) fly and (200), so I'm not really focused on the sprint part. I just I just wanted to get one last good race out of me.”
Noel's next stop is Indiana University. He holds the Guyanese national record 10 times. First of all, he's tartan. forever.
“New Jersey has some of the best swimmers in the country, so I'm really excited to see where everyone goes from here,” Noel said. “I'm really proud of myself and being a Highlander. We've done a really good job over the last two years, so I'm really proud to contribute to that in any way I can. ”
Our Lady of Mercy junior Scarlett McGlinchey also added a pair of medals to her trophy case. She placed fifth in both the individual medley and breaststroke.
“It’s just crazy to have the top eight kids coming together for this tournament,” McGlinchey said. “It's actually kind of stinky, actually, because New Jersey has a lot of fast kids who couldn't come back today for the B final. I really hope they bring back the B final. I am.”
McGlinchey earned her third medal as part of the OLMA team that placed seventh in the 400-meter free relay, alongside Isabella Valle, Gianna Cook, and Reece Hetzer. Valle earned a fifth-place medal in the 500 free event.
Medals were awarded to each of the eight swimmers in each race. Interestingly, they were also awarded a certificate recognizing their “top 16” performance in the state.
This fact meant that some top swimmers missed out on swimming the final stage on the final day of the season. For example, Valle in the 200 free and OLMA 200 free relay each finished in 9th place, missing out on advancing to the finals by one spot.
Kingsway sophomore Madeline Cassidy placed 10th in the 100 free heat, but she had already qualified for the 50 free heat, where Cassidy placed fifth.
“I’m really happy with the season overall,” Cassidy said. “I think my team and I have worked really hard to get here. I'm happy today. We've always seen improvement.”
Cassidy enjoyed swimming with her teammates in two relays. She led the third-place medley relay with Brooke Warner, Holland Spangler and Claire Tolley. She anchored the 200 free relay, joining Warner, Catherine DiLorenzo and Torrey. Warner, also a sophomore, earned a seventh-place medal in the breaststroke.
“The relay was crazy,” Cassidy said. “It was a real honor to be selected as one of the top relay athletes. All year long we wanted to do well at this meet.”
Clearview sophomore Lauren Lett placed eighth in the backstroke.
Gloucester Polytechnic Institute junior Luc Strietz was sixth in the 50 free. His journey to the state's fastest race began by knocking half a second off his personal best in the ultimate sprint race.
“It felt really great,” Strietz said. “In club swimming, I'm usually 21 (points) 8. Then in high school I'm 21-3 and making it to the state finals is amazing. I'm having fun.”
Straits also finished seventh in the Gloucester Tech 400 free relay, along with Blaine Lowry, Ethan Guineau and Mark Wardelman. Still, that 50 though.
“So it was a lot of work,” Strietz said. “From practice in the morning and in the afternoon. Depending on the day, there are double sessions. It's a tough job, but I'm happy that I was able to move up from 33rd place in qualifying last year to 6th place.”
Delsea junior Kylee McMurray placed fifth in the 200 freestyle and blew out the stops in the fastest 500 freestyle race in state history with a blistering time of 4 minutes, 53.51 seconds to take third.
“This is a really great meet because all the great swimmers in the state are here,” McMurray said. “Most of us are used to seeing the South Jersey girls here all the time. Now they're all here. It's a really great competition to be a part of.”
South Jersey Times Regional State Medalists
girl
Medley relay: 3. Kingsway (Madeline Cassidy, Brooke Warner, Holland Spangler, Claire Tolley) 1:46.50
200: 5. Kylie McMurray, Delsea, 1:51.35
I: 5. Scarlett McGlinchey, Our Lady of Mercy, 2:03.66
50: 5. Madeline Cassidy, Kingsway, 23.75
500: 3. Kylie McMurray, Delsea, 4:53.51. 5. Isabella Valle, Our Lady of Mercy, 4:48.48
return: 8. Lauren Lett, Clearview, 58.12
200FR: 6. Kingsway (Brooke Warner, Catherine DiLorenzo, Clare Tolley, Madeline Cassidy) 1:37.78
chest: 5. Scarlett McGlinchey, Our Lady of Mercy, 1:03.24. 7. Brooke Warner, Kingsway, 1:04.49
400FR: 7. Our Lady of Mercy (Isabella Valle, Gianna Cook, Reece Hetzer, Scarlett McGlinchey) 3:36.05
boys
200: 5. Legwon Noel, Highland, 1:40.20
50: 6. Luc Strietz, Gloucester Institute of Technology, 9:30 p.m.
jump: 4. RaeKwon Noel, Highland, 48.96
200FR: 6. Gloucester Institute of Technology (Brian Lawrie, Ethan Guineau, Mark Wardelman, Luc Strietz) 1:27.67
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Tom Rimback can be contacted at: hssports@njadvancemedia.com
