CATCHING HER BREATH: Eva Petrone of the Community Park Bluefish swim team competes in a breaststroke event earlier this summer. Last week, Petrone took fifth in the 12-and-under 50 backstroke and 10th in the 50 breaststroke at the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association (PASDA) championships. The Bluefish placed third of six clubs in the Division 1 team standings at the meet. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Utilizing its strength in numbers, the Community Park Bluefish swim team proved to be a force last week at the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association (PASDA) championship meet.

“We did well, we bumped up from fourth place last year,” said Bluefish head coach Andy Sichet, whose squad placed third of six teams in Division 1 with 2,075.50 points, trailing host Flemington-Raritan Community Pool, the winner of the meet at 2,2804.50 and runner up Lawrenceville Swim Association at 2,407.50.

“We took a bigger team than last year. Officially we have the biggest team in the league. We had a lot of kids who swam well and dropped a lot of time.”

Recent Princeton High grad and Cornell-bound Will Stange had a good time in his final PASDA appearance. Stange took first in the 18-and-under 50-meter backstroke and the 50 butterfly and helped the Bluefish to first place in the 200 medley relay and second in the 200 free relay.

“It was Will’s last year so it was an extra special swim and an extra special meet for him,” said Sichet. “He broke the team record in the backstroke at 27.74.”

While Stange led the way, the 18U boys piled up a lot of points for the Bluefish with Gabe Bar-Cohen placing second in the 18U 50 breaststroke and fifth in the 50 fly, Matt Shanahan finishing third in the 50 breast, and Stephen Kratzer coming in sixth in both the 50 free and 50 fly.

“The 18U boys was the strongest part of our team, which it never is,” noted Sichet. “When the boys hit 14, they start going to other sports ands swimming isn’t always a priority.”

The squad’s younger boys also showed plenty of strength. In the 14U  boys’ division, Matthew O’Boyle was second in the 50 free and fifth in the 50 back while Karl Lackner was second in the 50 back and the 100 individual medley. The pair of O’Boyle and Lackner together with Charles Yandrisevits and Phillip Lacava helped CP win both the 14U 200 free and medley relays. Ethan Rizzi, Gafen Bar-Cohen, and Jason Kratzer stood out in the 12U division as Rizzi placed fifth in the 50 back while Bar-Cohen was third in the 50 breast, and Kratzer finished fifth in the 50 fly. Alex Pendrous showed his versatility, winning the 10U 25 breast and taking second in the 25 fly and seventh in the 100 IM. In the 8U division, Brett Torgerson and Brendan Dombrowski proved to be a solid one-two punch. Torgerson took third in the 25 back and fourth in the 25 free while Dombrowski finished fourth in both the 25 back and 25 breast.

As for the CP girls’, Ella Jones emerged as a standout for the CP girls as she won the 8U 25 free, 25 breast, and 100 IM. Piper Dubow placed first in the 8U 25 back and fourth in the 25 breast.

“Ella Jones has become a powerhouse for us,” asserted Sichet. “She keeps going and going no matter who we have her training with. She is naturally talented and has a lot of passion for swimming. She is a wonderful kid to have on the team.”

Sichet noted that CP received some wonderful family efforts at the meet.

Three Maslanka sisters joined the team this year and made an immediate impact. Sara Maslanka displayed her all-around abilities, taking fourth in the 10U back, fifth in the 100 IM, and sixth in the 25 free. Carolyn Maslanka placed fifth in the 14U 50 breast while Rebecca Maslanka placed third in the 18U 50 back.

A stalwart CP family, the Petrones, was ably represented as Jaxon Petrone placed first in the 10U 25 free and fourth in the 100 IM while older sister, Eva Petrone, was fifth in the 12U 50 back and 10th in the 50 breast

“The Maslankas did well as a group,” said Sichet. “The Petrones are a big Bluefish family. They have been with the Bluefish for years and they are very dedicated, they come to every practice and work very hard.”

The Bluefish got some good work from a number of other girl swimmers as Piper Dubow placed first in the 8U 25 back and fourth in the 25 breast with  Isabelle Phillips taking fourth in the 100 IM, Emily Becker finishing ninth in the 50 free, Charlotte Singer coming in fourth in the 18U 50 breast, and Jessica Bai taking third in the 18U 50 fly.

All in all, the CP numbers added up to something special as the team went 4-1 in dual meets before its strong showing in the championship meet. “We had some fantastic swimming throughout the summer,” maintained Sichet.