PERTH AMBOY — You could say two-time defending champion Bishop Ahr High School has been following a three-year cycle.
The Trojans, who had not taken home a Greater Middlesex Conference title for three years after winning from 2005 to 2007, shattered records as they snagged eight of 11 events to capture a third consecutive crown at the Raritan Bay Area YMCA on Friday.
Just as St. Joseph ruled the pool a day earlier in the boys meet, Bishop Ahr’s girls dominated with a score of 497. Runner-up South Brunswick earned 318 points, while East Brunswick finished third with 285 points.
Seven meet records were broken, including two relay records, which fell to Bishop Ahr girls.
“I’m speechless,” coach Amanda Miller said about her rookie-season conference title. “I’m very excited for my girls. They just came today and all swam well – top to bottom. We had lots of personal records, a lot of qualifying times for the Meet of Champions. Our 200 (medley) relay qualified today.”
Sophomore Katrina Kuhn, who broke meet records in all four events she swam, couldn’t contain her excitement after the medal ceremony.
“I’m super pumped,” Kuhn said. “It feels great to see what I’m doing as a sophomore. I’m excited to see what my next two years at Bishop Ahr has in store.”
Kuhn broke her own record for the 100-yard freestyle, clocking 51.61 after finishing first with a time of 52.53 for the same event a year earlier She swam the 100 backstroke in under a minute (57.62) to break the 2006 meet record of 1:00.16.
Kuhn also swam the two record-breaking relays – the 200 medley (1:50.18) and the 400 free (3:36.67). The previous meet records were and 1:52.04 and 3:40.58, respectively.
Senior Michelle Kierencew also was a multiple-medalist for Bishop Ahr. The top seed for the 200 individual medley, Kierencew broke the meet record (2:12.28) finishing first in 2:09.56. She also swam fastest in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:07.07, and helped the Trojans clock their two record-breaking relays.
“It means a lot to me to win and to get the records in the relays, especially because it’s my last year,” Kierencew said. “I wanted to leave a mark on this meet.”
The Trojans set the tone in the first event, breaking their own 2012 meet record for the 200-yard medley relay. Three members of Friday’s team – Kuhn, Annie Bucca and Jessica Schmidt – helped set the GMC record a year earlier. Schmidt later clocked 24.97 for a first-place finish in the 50 free.
Old Bridge’s Courtney Foley topped her own meet record of 1:56.50 to win the 200 free with a time of 1:56.23. She also broke the meet record of 59.00 for the 100 butterfly, touching in 58.53. Cindy Shi of South Brunswick won the 500 free with a time of 5:14.20.
Team Scores: 1. Bishop Ahr 497; 2. South Brunswick 318; 3. East Brunswick 285; 4. Metuchen 195; 5. Sayreville 187; 6. Old Bridge 179. 7. Piscataway 102; 8. Mother Seton 98; 8. South Plainfield 98; 10. North Brunswick 79; 11. J.F. Kennedy 40; 12. Wardlaw- Hartridge 33; 13. Woodbridge 30; 14. Colonia 29.
200-YARD MEDLEY RELAY: 1. Bishop Ahr (Katrina Kuhn, Annie Bucca, Michelle Kierencew, Jessica Schmidt) 1:50.18; 2. East Brunswick 1:57.94; 3. Old Bridge 1:59.75; 4. Sayreville 2:00.54; 5. Bishop Ahr 2:04.85; 6. Metuchen 2:06.11.
200-YARD FREESTYLE: 1. Courtney Foley (Old Bridge) 1:56.23; 2. Jessica Schmidt (Bishop Ahr) 1:56.99; 3. Cindy Shi (South Brunswick) 1:58.05; 4. Danielle Fontaine (Bishop Ahr) 2:01.29; 5. Kimberly White (Woodbridge) 2:01.43; 6. Veronica Drozdzewicz (J.F. Kennedy) 2:03.64.
200-YARD INDIVIDUAL MEDLEY: 1. Michelle Kierencew (Bishop Ahr) 2:09.56; 2. Victoria Glascock (East Brunswick) 2:13.96; 3. Katrina Dy (Bishop Ahr) 2:17.53; 4. Elizabeth Kaczmarek (Sayreville) 2:18.72; 5. Samantha Chan 2:21.42; 6. Jullian DelaCruz (Metuchen) 2:22.19.
50-YARD FREESTYLE: 1. Jessica Schmidt (Bishop Ahr) 24.97; 2. Ali Huber (South Plainfield) 25.01; 3. Annie Bucca (Bishop Ahr) 25.64; 4. Emily Charniga (South Brunswick) 25.84; 5. Katelin Barone (Mother Seton) 26.11; Veronika Drozdzewicz (J.F. Kennedy) 26.24.
100-YARD BUTTERFLY: 1. Courtney Foley (Old Bridge) 58.53; 2. Victoria Glascock (East Brunswick) 59.93; 3. Amie Ko (Edison) 1:02.13; 4. Alyssa Kennedy (Wardlaw-Hartridge) 1:02.45; 5. Christina Napoli (South Brunswick) 1:02.63; 6. Caroline Coffey (Bishop Ahr) 1:02.98.
100-YARD FREESTYLE: 1. Katrina Kuhn (Bishop Ahr) 51.61; 2. Ali Huber (South Plainfield) 54.64; 3. Danielle Fontaine (Bishop Ahr) 56.08; 4. Colleen Dwyer (East Brunswick) 56.28; 5. Julia Weiczorek (Bishop Ahr) 58.52; 6. Kristina Lignell (Metuchen) 59.90.
500-YARD FREESTYLE: 1. Cindy Shi (South Brunswick) 5:14.20; 2. Kaitlyn Mulcahy (Spotswood) 5:17.22; 3. Elizabeth Kaczmarek (Sayreville) 5:25.30; 4. Kimberly White (Woodbridge) 5:27.43; 5. Alyssa D’Esposito (Bishop Ahr) 5:34.61; 6. Gracie Piekarski (South Plainfield) 5:35.69.
200-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Bishop Ahr (Annie Bucca, Julia Weiczorek, Katrina Dy, Danielle Fontaine) 1:42.57; 2. South Brunswick 1:45.13; 3. East Brunswick 1:47.19; 4. South Brunswick 1:52.23; 5. Piscataway 1:53.30; 6. Mother Seton 1:53.91.
100-YARD BACKSTROKE: 1. Katrina Kuhn (Bishop Ahr) 57.62; Colleen Dwyer 1:01.35; Jillian DelaCruz (Metuchen) 1:03.28; 4. Maggie O’Connell (Metuchen) 1:05.69; 5. Anika Kumar (Metuchen) 1:05.81; 6. Caroline Coffey (Bishop Ahr) 1:09.00.
100-YARD BREASTSTROKE: 1. Michelle Kierencew (Bishop Ahr) 1:07.07; 2. Ashley Corley (Old Bridge) 1:07.64; 3. Emily Charniga (South Brunswick) 1:09.17; 4. Annie Bucca (Bishop Ahr) 1:10.15; 5. Amie Ko (Edison) 1:11.19; 6. Kaitlyn Mulcahy (Spotswood) 1:11.25.
400-YARD FREESTYLE RELAY: 1. Bishop Ahr (Jessica Schmidt, Danielle Fontaine, Michelle Kierencew, Katrina Kuhn) 3:36.67; 2. South Brunswick 3:51.42; 3. Sayreville 3:57.53; 4. Old Bridge 4:01.49; 5. Metuchen 4:02.56; 6. Bishop Ahr 4:03.17.