LIVINGSTON—The West Essex and Newark Academy swimming teams did just what they were expected to on Wednesday when the two schools battled in the pool.
The two schools split their meet at the William E. Simon Natatorium.
The West Essex girls team defeated Newark Academy, 123-46, while the Minutemen boys squad dropped the Knights in a similar fashion, 108-62.
Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The NA boys squad have some impressive swimmers with the likes of senior Spencer Rice, freshman Arjun Arora, sophomore Benjamin Aiken and junior Meir Alelov.
The West Essex and Newark Academy girls teams only had one win each coming into the meet, but the young and improving Knights proved to be much deeper.
Find out what's happening in Livingstonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
With the win, West Essex improved to 2-3, NA dropped to 1-5. The Minutemen boys improved to 4-2, while the West Essex boys dropped to 1-4.
Taylor did a little experimenting with his swimmers, who at time participated in races outside their specialty.
The West Essex girls captured 10 of the 11 races in the meet. The lone exception was Ashley Ulrich's win in the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:23.97 for the Minutemen.
The meet was important for Newark Academy, considering it was the Minutemen's last before Friday's deadline for qualifying times for next weekend's Essex County Tournament.
Meanwhile, the West Essex teams have one more meet before the cutoff with the girls facing Mount Saint Dominic and the boys facing Seton Hall Prep on Friday.
On Wednesday, the Knights were led by Valerie Panza, who captured the 200 individual medley (2:30.00) and 500 freestyle (6:02.31).
West Essex also grabbed five of the top six spots in the three relay races.
On the boys side, it was the same result—just on the other side of the ledger. Newark Academy boys captured 10 of the 11 first-place honors with West Essex's James Lovey winning the 200 individual medley (2:15.02).
The Minutemen were led by Rice and Arora, who each won two events. Rice won the 200 freestyle (2:00.26) and 500 freestyle (5:38.95), while Arora grabbed gold in both the sprints, 50 and 100 freestyle races, with times of 24:59 and 51.63, respectively.
The Newark Academy boys also grabbed four of the six top spots in the three relay races.
West Essex at Newark Academy, Jan. 20, William E. Simon Natatorium
GIRLS SWIMMINGWest Essex 123, Newark Academy 46
200 individual medley relay
1. West Essex, Chrissy Lovey, Sarah McGrath, Valerie Panza, Ally Barth, 2:07.76
2. West Essex, Sara Jo Notte, Dana Silverblatt, Marin Schiffenhaus, Rachel Ferrante, (No time available)
200 freestyle
1. West Essex, Raquel Grasso, 2:14.06
2. Newark Academy, Brenna Gormally, 2:38.08
200 individual medley
1. West Essex, Valerie Panza, 2:30.00
2. West Essex, Ally Barth, 2:34.98
50 freestyle
1. West Essex, Marin Schiffenhaus, 26.97
2. West Essex, Chrissy Love, 32.98
500 freestyle
1. West Essex, Valerie Panza, 6:02.31
2. West Essex, Sara Jo Notte, 7:11.04
100 backstroke
1. West Essex, Kathleen Turnbull, 1:14.45
2. Newark Academy, Katherine Bu, 1:15.43
200 freestyle relay
1. West Essex, Ellen Gallagher, Samantha Hamburger, Adrianna Diaz, Alexa Perillo, 2:05.86
2. West Essex, Valerie Panza, Marin Schiffenhaus, Sarah McGrath, Rachel Ferrante, 2:20.45
100 breaststroke
1. Newark Academy, Ashley Ulrich, 1:23.97
2. West Essex, Marin Schiffenhaus, 1:24.54
400 freestyle relay
1. West Essex, Chrissy Lovey, Ally Barth, Sara Jo Notte, Sarah McGrath, 4:32.96
2. Newark Academy, Brenna Gormally, Katherine Bu, Isabelle Jeng, Ashley ulrich, 4:47.60
100 butterfly
1. West Essex, Dana Silverblatt, 1:11.50
2. West Essex, Sarah McGrath, 1:17.00
100 freestyle
1. West Essex, Samantha Hamburger, 1:08.19
2. West Essex, Ally Barth, 1:17.35
BOYS SWIMMINGNewark Academy 108, West Essex 62
200 individual medley relay
1. Newark Academy, Spencer Rice, Benjamin Aiken, Meir Alelov, Arjun Arora, 1:55.18
2. West Essex, R.J. Carillo, James Lovey, Tim Taylor, Dan Rosen, 1:57.51
200 freestyle
1. Newark Academy, Spencer Rice, 2:00.26
2. Newark Academy, Nathanie Okun, 2:09.46
200 individual medley
1. West Essex, James Lovey, 2:15.02
2. Newark Academy, Benjamin Aiken, 2:16.84
50 freestyle
1. Newark Academy, Arjun Arora, 24:59
2. West Essex, R.J. Carillo, 26.05
100 butterfly
1. Newark Academy, Meir Alelov, 58.63
2. West Essex, James Lovey, 1:01.94
100 freestyle
1. Newark Academy, Arjun Arora, 51.63
2. West Essex, Greg Spry, 1:04.67
500 freestyle
1. Newark Academy, Spencer Rice, 5:38.95
2. Newark Academy, Peter Ingato, 6:11.06
200 freestyle relay
1. Newark Academy, Benjamin Aiken, Andrew Morrison, Peter Ingato, Meir Alelov, 1:43.87
2. West Essex, R.J. Carillo, Chris Plunkett, James Lovey, Dan Rosen, 1:43.24
100 backstroke
1. Newark Academy, Nathan Okun, 1:08.32
2. Newark Academy, Logan Erickson, 1:08.35
100 breaststroke
1. Newark Academy, Benjamin Aiken, 1:14.62
2. West Essex, Tim Taylor, 1:18.55
400 freestyle relay
1. Newark Academy, Meir Alelov, Andrew Hawn, Arjun Arora, Spencer Rice, 3:57.63
2. Newark Academy, Peter Ingato, Jaxon Gruber, Nathaniel Okun, Logan Erickson, 4:04.68
