Central Regional Boys Swim Team Finishing Up A Season To Remember

Evan Mahoney, a sophomore who recently set county records in the sprint freestyles, led a contingent of seven qualifiers from the newly crowned Shore Conference B South champion Central Regional into the Shore Conference championships at the Ocean County YMCA in Toms River recently.
Central Regional clinched its first division title since 2005 this year. The team is  taking a 9-1 record and a six-meet win streak into its final meet against Manchester today. The team's  lone loss came to A South powerhouse Toms River South, 95-75.
Mahoney won the 200-yard freestyle and the 100 breaststroke in last year's Shore Conference championships when Central Regional finished ninth as a team. This year  has been much better.
"I'm right where I want to be," said Mahoney, who also swims for the formidable Toms River YMCA team now prepping for the YMCA Nationals in Fort Lauderdale in April.
"This is a very versatile team," said coach Steve Stout, whose team is ranked its highest in recent years at No. 6 in a leading Shore poll. "You can jockey them around (into different events), which makes them around which makes them better swimmers. When you don't do that, you never can see what kids can do."
Mahoney followed that philosophy at the Shore Conference meet to defend his 200 freestyle title of 1:46.7 . But he switched to the 100 freestyle for his other event. He clocked county meet records :47.41 in the 100 and :22.03 in the 50.
Central Regional finished third in the county meet at the Ocean County YMCA behind Toms River South and Toms River North, its best showing since the 2005 season when it was runner-up in that meet.
"Solid depth, that's what you need to be successful," said Stout, who has only a handful of seniors on the young team.
Mahoney has clocked a personal best 1:43 in the 200 for the Ocean Y team.
Stout is looking for more high finishers in the races.
"Central Regional has not been one of the better schools in swimming in recent years, but now it is going back to what it was," said Mahoney. "At the beginning of the year, I thought we'd be good but not this good. By our second meet, everyone was swimming fast."
It showed in the county meet. Two other school records were set when Chris Giglio, a senior, was third in the backstroke in :57.41 and swam on the 200 medley relay with junior Al Yocius, Mahoney and junior Ian Cook on anchor that clocked a 1:44.41.
That relay also qualified for the NJSIAA championships at Gloucester Tech later this month. Mahoney qualified for the state meet in the 100 and 200 freestyles.

Along with Mahoney, Yocius qualified for the Shore Conference championships in the 100 backstroke and 100 butterfly. His brother, Luke, a freshman, will compete in the butterfly and 200 freestyle. Also qualifying are senior captain Kevin Landmesser in the 200 individual medley where he has clocked a 2:22 and the 100 breaststroke with a 1:10. Senior Erich Polixa appears set for the 100 butterfly where he has been timed in 1:03. Sophomore Dan Rossi made it in the breaststroke with a 1:14 time.
Sophomore Tom Hrabel  has hit 2:17 in the 200 individual medley and the 500 freestyle with a personal best 5:34.
"He's such a versatile swimmer," Stout said. "He's not as fast as Evan, but he's right there.".
They are part of a solid cast of a team whose only tough competition going into its final dual meet was a four-point victory over Lacey that clinched a tie for the conference title. It wrapped up the title comfortably against Barnegat in its latest dual meet.
"Going into the season, I knew we had talented swimmers but I didn't know how good or what others teams have," said Stout. "It's a tight team and I see them competing as a team and not as individuals. In the first couple of meets, I saw the job others were doing filling the holes and knew we had a shot at doing something special."
That includes sprint freestyler and backstroker Anthony Domanoski, whom Stout said "has really come around" and junior Zach Bach, "who is always getting points" in the sprint freestyles and relays. Senior Tim Hull in sprint freestyles and relays, and sophomore Michael Capogna in the distance freestyles also have contributed. Sophomore Ed Corrigan has dropped his time in the individual medley to a 2:23.
Many of Stout's swimmers competed in the Berkeley Rec program that he and his wife Cindy started 12 years ago for youngsters ages 5 to 18. The recreation program was 110 strong last summer and had one of its best showings ever in the Shore Summer Swim League. Fifty of the 66 girls and boys on the high school teams participated.
"It kept us in contact with the high school kids to keep them swimming and for the seventh and sixth graders coming up to fill spots on the high school team," Stout said.  "I swam for Central and see it coming back  with this summer program, I looked at it as a way we can improve ourselves."
It showed this season as the Golden Eagles went from conference runner-up in an 8-4 season last year to the top spot.