Dodger Swimming Beats Par Hills and Villa Walsh, Loses To Delbarton

Over the last two weeks, the Madison Dodgers swim teams competed in three more dual meets. On January 4, both the girls’ and boys’ teams beat Parsippany Hills, and on January 10, the girls’ defeated Villa Walsh while the boys’ lost to Delbarton. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams now move up to a 2-2 record.

The Dodgers raced Delbarton and Villa Walsh at the Morristown Beard School, which contains a short course meters pool. Meanwhile, the Parsippany Hills meet was raced at the Madison YMCA in a short course yards pool, so there are many time discrepancies between the two meets.

Girls’ Recap

The Dodger girls captured their first win of the season against Parsippany Hills with a 99-71 win. Par Hills was leading 17-13 after the first two events, but a series of successful races for the Dodgers put them on top for the rest of the meet. In fact, the Dodgers had multiple top three finishers in all but two events.

Two swimmers took their first-ever individual wins of the season: sophomore Layla Knoll and junior Emma Dooley. Knoll won the 200-yard freestyle (2:11.59) and 100 freestyle (1:00.27), while Dooley won the 500-yard freestyle (6:17.12).

On the other hand, swimmers like senior captain Karen Wu and junior Erin Barisonek built upon their momentum from previous meets. Wu won the 50 freestyle (25.56) and 100 butterfly (1:02.25), while Barisonek won the 200 individual medley (2:22.71).

In addition to individual wins, the team of freshman Alexis Lee (29.19), senior Nina Kornchankul (32.89), sophomore Evelyn Juliano (28.68), and Knoll (27.90) won the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:58.66, while Knoll (1:01.97), Wu (58.11), Barisonek (1:03.76) and senior captain Bella Guarino (1:02.22) won the 400 freestyle relay in 4:06.06.

Given that the Villa Walsh girls’ team only had seven swimmers, the Dodger girls took up the majority of points in their meet against Villa Walsh, winning in a blowout margin of 121-38. In fact, they took first in every single event except the 50 freestyle, and went 1-2-3 in two events (200 freestyle and 100 backstroke).

Guarino won her first individual event of the season at this meet, winning the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:26.83. Knoll, Wu, and Barisonek also took two events apiece, with Knoll winning the 200 freestyle (2:28.84) and 100 freestyle (1:08.84), Wu winning the 200 individual medley (2:35.97) and 400 freestyle (5:03.57), and Barisonek winning the 100 butterfly (1:13.66) and 100 backstroke (1:14.98).

Wu remains undefeated individually in the 2022-23 season.

The Dodger girls also swept all three relays, with Barisonek (35.39), Guarino (40.93), Wu (32.61), and Lee (32.43) taking the 200 medley relay with a 2:20.84; Guarino (32.65), junior Sophia Modi (35.93), junior Eva Deng (32.47), and Kornchankul (35.60) winning the 200 freestyle relay in 2:16.50, and Wu (1:07.83), Knoll (1:11.76), Barisonek (1:12.86), and Guarino (1:14.71) winning the 400 freestyle relay in a time of 4:46.76.

Boys’ Recap

After beating Morristown for the first time in ten years, the Dodger boys continued their momentum and scored a 101-69 victory against Parsippany Hills. Senior captain Owen Weller, as well as sophomores Anuthra Abeysinghe and Jacques Chemaly led the way with individual wins.

This win against Parsippany Hills was redemption for the Dodgers, who lost to the Vikings by just two points last year.

Weller won the 200 freestyle (1:57.70) and 100 backstroke (58.15), Chemaly won the 50 freestyle (23.84) and 500 freestyle (5:18.68), and Abeysinghe won the 200 individual medley (2:16.21). Abeysinghe also placed second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:04.38.

Weller (26.37), Abeysinghe (29.22), freshman Spencer Rosenbaum (27.97), and Chemaly (23.22) took the 200 medley relay with a combined time of 1:46.78, while Chemaly (51.71), Rosenbaum (56.62), Weller (55.01), and Abeysinghe (55.54) combined for a time of 4:51.50 to win the 400 freestyle relay.

The Dodger boys were less successful against Delbarton, who have historically been one of the team’s most challenging opponents. They lost 115-55, and only scored three event wins.

That being said, Chemaly still swept his individual events, winning the 100 freestyle (56.06) and and 100 backstroke (1:05.70). Abeysinghe also won an event, taking the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:14.10.

The Dodgers next compete on January 17 in a home meet against Mendham.