Mainland Regional High School junior Destin Lasco broke two state record to highlight New Jersey’s individual high school state meet. (New Jersey runs its team championship in a series of bracketed dual meets, with the individual state meet the following week).
Boys Meet
Lasco was dominant in the mid-sprint freestyles. He went 1:35.17 to win the 200 free by more than three seconds. He was almost three seconds faster even than last year’s winner. Lasco set a new state record in that event, and later added a 43.44 state record in the 100 free. That win came by about a second, and was almost two faster than the 2018 champ.
The Pingry School won all three relays, getting four overall wins from sophomore Matt Fallon.
Individually, Fallon won the 200 IM in 1:48.88, dominating by two and a half seconds. (Lasco still holds that state record at 1:44.59 from last year). Fallon also won the 100 breast in 54.38, setting a new state record in prelims at 54.26.
Fallon was the breaststroker on the winning 200 medley relay, splitting 25.45 to join Leighton Mayers, Will Stearns and Kevin Ma in 1:33.22. At the meet’s close, Jerry O’Mara, Ma, Mayers and Fallon went 3:08.11 to win the 400 free relay. Fallon split 46.38 and Ma 46.46.
The senior Mayers also won the 100 back indiviudally. He was 50.28 for that win. Meanwhile Reid McBoyle, O’Mara, Jon Chen and Ma won the 200 free relay in 1:24.78. That gave Ma three wins, as well, as he only swam one individual race (3rd in the 50 free) to compete on all three relays.
Other event winners:
- Holy Spirit senior TJ Given won the 50 free, going 20.71.
- Moorestown senior Joshua Fang won the 100 fly in 49.08.
- Scotch Plains senior Josh Cohen took home the 500 free title in 4:29.93.
Girls Meet
Morristown senior Grace Miller won three events on the girls side, including both free relays.
She won the 500 free individually, going 4:56.09 to win a tough race with Moorestown’s Allie Waggoner (4:56.76). Miller came off that win to split 24.2 on Morristown’s winning 400 free relay. She was joined by Annalise Webber, Emily Skilton and Nicole Barkemeyer. Then, late in the meet, Barkemeyer, Skilton, Webber and Miller went 3:30.00 to win the 400 free relay by just three tenths over Cherry Hill East. Miller had the key 51.20 split on the end of that relay to hold off a hard-charging Annie Behm of Cherry Hill East.
Behm also won the 100 back in 55.36, a touchout of two tenths over Mainland Regional’s Katie McClintock. Cherry Hill East also got a 100 breast win from Grace Yoon in 1:02.67.
Darlene Fung of the Pingry School won two individual races. She was 23.05 to win the 50 free, though she missed her own state record of 22.80 from a year ago. Fung also won the 100 free in 50.17. She’s the repeat state champ there and only four tenths off a state record held by Kelsi Worrell, now a U.S. Olympian and competing under her married name of Kelsi Dahlia.
Other event winners:
- Bridgewater Raritan won the 200 medley relay in 1:45.56. The team was made up of Meredith Riegler, Jackie Ruhnke, Grace Zhou and Sarah Pacelli.
- Mount Sant Mary’s Catherine Meisner won the 200 free in 1:49.37.
- Mainland Regional’s McClintock took the 200 IM in 2:00.88.
- Sarah Hardy of Bishop George Ahr won the 100 fly in 55.46.
24.2 is a pretty crazy split on a 400 free relay