Cherry Hill East Boys, Girls Ousted in State Swim Semis

Cherry Hill East will have to wait another year to try to add to its 21 combined girls’ and boys’ swimming state championships.

Both the Cougars boys and girls teams were eliminated in the state semifinals at the College of New Jersey Tuesday—the boys were ousted by Bridgewater-Raritan, a team that’s won two of the last three Division A titles, 108-62, while the girls fell to Hunterdon Central, 102.5-66.5.

On the boys side, East won just three races—Duncan Brookover took the 500 freestyle in 4:56.14, David Rowe won the backstroke in 53.07 and Mike Simunek won the breaststroke in 1:01.29.

For the girls, East opened with a win in the medley relay, with the team of Jaimie Lynn Brookover, Marta Lawler, Colleen Finias and Natalie Simunek taking first in 1:50.89. The Cougars wouldn't win another race until the 500 freestyle, which Shelly Faykes won in 5:14.46. Jaimie Lynn Brookover gave East one last win in the backstroke, taking it in 59.22.

The losses come just days after both teams fulfilled their promise as No. 1 seeds in the South A tournament, winning two titles a few hours apart at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology pool in Deptford.

East’s boys got revenge on Shawnee for a regular-season loss and set a relay record in the process, while the girls pulled together a huge comeback in the final three events to topple Atlantic City.

Bridgewater-Raritan 108, Cherry Hill East 62

• 200 medley relay-Bridgewater-Raritan (D. Sali, Sebuktekin, O Brien, Novak) 1:36.77
• 200 free: Bridgewater-Raritan, J. Tan, 1:47.29
• 200 IM: Bridgewater-Raritan, D. Sali, 1:58.76
• 50 free: Bridgewater-Raritan, Novak, 21.75
• 100 butterfly: Bridgewater-Raritan, D Sali, 50.78
• 100 free: Bridgewater-Raritan, Novak, 48.69
• 500 free: East, Duncan Brookover, 4:56.14
• 200 free relay: Bridgewater Raritan—S. Sali, O Brien, Agnello, J Tan—1:31.03
• 100 backstroke: East, David Rowe, 53.07
• 100 breaststroke: East, Mike Simunek, 1:01.29
• 400 free relay: Bridgewater Raritan—J Tan, Agnello, D Dali, Novak—3:20.46.

Hunterdon Central 102.5, Cherry Hill East 66.5

• 200 medley relay: Cherry Hill East—Jaimie Lynn Brookover, Marta Lawler, Colleen Finias, Natalie Simunek—1:50.89
• 200 free: Hunterdon Central, Ambrose,1:56.18
• 200 IM: Hunterdon Central, Russo, 2:11.08
• 50 free: Hunterdon Central, Christensen, 23.82
• 100 butterfly: Hunterdon Central, Russo, 59.73
• 100 free: Hunterdon Central, Christensen, 51.63
• 500 free: East, Shelly Faykes, 5:14.46
• 200 free relay: Hunterdon Central—Ambrose, Hubert, Peterson, Christensen—1:40.07
• 100 backstroke, East, Jaimie Lynn Brookover, 59.22
• 100 breaststroke: Hunterdon Central, Ambrose, 1:07.02
• 400 free relay: Hunterdon Central—Russo, Hubert, Peterson, Christensen—3:41.28.

For more coverage of East swimming, check out these links:

• Cherry Hill East Girls Swimmers Use Depth to Sink Clearview
• Cherry Hill East Girls Swimming Beats Clearview: Photos
• Cherry Hill East Boys Swimming Beats Egg Harbor: Photos
• Cherry Hill East Girls Storm Back to Claim South Jersey Swim Title
• Cherry Hill East Boys Swim to South Jersey Title: Photos
• Cherry Hill East Girls Swimming Wins South A Championship: Photos
• Photos: Cherry Hill East Swimming Sweeps West