East, West Get 6 Top-8 Finishes at Swimming Meet of Champions

Three relay teams and three individual swimmers from Cherry Hill East and West were among the best in the state at the annual Meet of Champions Sunday.

The East boys’ medley relay team, which set a school record in winning the South Jersey title, was just a hair slower than record time, finishing sixth in the state in 1:37.50. The relay team missed out on a top-3 finish by just a second and a half.

David Rowe claimed the top individual finish for the Cougars, as well. Rowe, a sophomore, was eighth in the butterfly in 51.34, just over two seconds slower than the winner, Nick Marks, of Gloucester Catholic.

On the girls side, East and West chased each other down in two events, splitting the better finish in the medley relay and backstroke.

In the medley relay, West was sixth in 1:49.67, out-touching East, which touched in 1:49.71.

The Cougars would get revenge in the backstroke, where Jaimie Lynn Brookover swam a 57.25 to finish sixth, beating out West’s Jenna Zagoren, who was a half-second slower in seventh.

In diving action earlier in the week, East’s Ethan O’Neill was second to Atlantic City’s Logan McHenry, who won his school’s first diving title in 84 years.