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Jonah Herring of Bellingham, Washington will make the move to the East Coast this fall, committing to swim for The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). He does his club swimming for the Bellingham Bay Swim Team.
“I’m excited to announce my commitment to continue to study and swim at TCNJ for the next 4 years! I’m grateful for everyone who has supported me along the way, especially my coaches, friends, and family.”
Herring’s last championship-style meet for Bellingham Bay was pre-pandemic in December of 2019, when he was 16 and a junior in high school. He popped a best time in every event he swam that weekend, ranging across four different disciplines, including fly, back, free, and IM. His biggest drop came in the 400 IM, where he sliced six seconds off his previous best (4:13) to snag his first Futures cut. That 4:13 was done a month prior, and that swim actually cut thirteen seconds off his best from early 2018.
That 400 IM wasn’t Herring’s only noteworthy swim at the Pacific Northwest Short Course Championships. He also dropped over two seconds in his 200 back, going sub 1:55 for the first time. Prior to this meet, he hadn’t dipped below 1:57. His other swims in the 100 and 200 fly, as well as the 100 back and 50 free, were also successful, with time drops of at least a second in every event.
Top Times SCY:
- 100 Back- 52.54
- 200 Back- 1:54.86
- 100 Fly- 53.17
- 200 Fly- 1:55.55
- 200 IM- 2:00.55
- 400 IM- 4:06.86
Herring’s versatility shines on TCNJ’s 19-20 roster. He would have ranked third in the 100 back and 200 fly, as well as fourth in the 400 IM.
TCNJ is a Division 3 school competing in the Metropolitan Conference, where the men’s team were the runner-up at the 2020 edition to Rowan University by just 30 points: 1478.5 to 1510. In a point system where swimmers were scoring anywhere from 40 to 80 points, Herring immediately scoring at the conference level could be a difference-maker in future team placements.
At the 2020 meet, Herring would have been a valuable asset for the Lions with an array of conference-scoring events to choose from, including projected A-final appearances in the 100 and 200 back, an A/B bubble slot in the 200 fly and 400 IM, and a B-final spot in the 100 fly.
He will suit up for the Lions alongside Mitchell Shirman, Peyton Broderick, Ryan Higgins, Luke Leshnower, Lukas Blach, Ryan Heerema, and Kai Zola.
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