SHP Swimmers Advance to State Tournament Final in Thrilling Come from Behind Fashion, Beating St. Augustine Prep 86-84. 

In a meet in which they trailed after 8 of 11 events, the Seton Hall Prep swim team came on strong in the last 3 events to pull out an incredible 86-84 victory over St. Augustine’s Prep in the NJSIAA Non-Public A Semifinal held on Presidents Day at the Neptune Aquatic Center.   

The Pirates started off a bit sluggishly but still led 17-13 after 2 events thanks to first place finishes in the 200 Medley Relay (Karl Burghardt, Connor Townson, Richard Poplawski, and Dylan Negron in 1:36.51) and the 200 Freestyle (Poplawski again in 1:43.71).  

St. Augustine then made a strong move in the next two events, finishing 1-2-4 in the 200 IM and 1-3-4 in the 50 Freestyle (in spite of Cormac Rouse’s lifetime best 21.82) to lead 36-26 after the break.   

SHP seemed in trouble at that point, but Negron rose to the challenge in the 100 Butterfly, winning in a sizzling 51.51.  Joining him in 1-3-4 finish were Pat Miller and Vince Wong, and the Pirates were back within 4 at 41-37.   

The Hermits showed their depth in the next 3 events, going 1-3 in the 100 free (in spite of Rouse’s 2^nd place time of 48.12) and 2-3-4 in the 500 Free behind winner Richard Poplawski (4:42.71).  

A 1-3 finish in the 200 Freestyle gave St. Augustine a seemingly insurmountable 69-55 lead with only 3 events to go. 

The first of these events was the 100 Backstroke, an event where SHP is particularly strong, and Connor Townson (54.25) and Karl Burghardt (54.74) did not disappoint, finishing 1-2 as the Pirates caught up to 74-66.   

On paper the 100 Breaststroke seemed like an even split, which would not give the Pirates a chance to catch up, but Kyler Alcebar swam an amazing race in a personal best time of 59.69, and with Negron finishing second and Wong 4^th, suddenly the score was tied at 78. This meant that whichever team won the 400 Freestyle Relay would win the meet.  

The Pirate lead foursome was Rouse, Aryan Kapoor, Townson and Poplawski.  The Hermits have an excellent four as well, but the SHP coaches told the first three guys “keep it close and Richard will win it”.  Keep it close they did, paced by Rouse’s leadoff leg of 48.46.  

At the last leg, St. Augustine led by 3.7 seconds, but Poplawski made it up and then some, taking the lead at the last turn and finishing in scorching 45.37 for a total time of 314.71.  

The Hermits took 2^nd and 3^rd, but it would not be enough, and the Pirates advanced to the final 86-84, moving to 11-0 on the season. 

 In the process, in spite of the sluggish start, the Pirates topped their power point total from last week’s meet against St. Joseph, earning a new school record 4706 Power Points. 

The state tournament final will be held on this coming Saturday, February 26 vs. CBA at 1:30 pm and Gloucester County Institute of Technology.