Abbey Berloco didn’t waste any time making an impact for the Princeton High girls’ swimming team.

Making her high school debut earlier this month against Hopewell Valley, precocious freshman Berloco set a program record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 24.58, bettering the previous mark by 0.11.

Reflecting on the record, Berloco is ahead of the schedule she set for herself.

“I had my eye on that record for a really long time, I was really hoping that by the end of my high school career that I could get it,” said Berloco, who swims for the Hamilton Aquatics Club.

As she gets her PHS career underway, Berloco is enjoying the intensity and camaraderie of high school swimming.

“It has really been a challenge managing my time but it has been a lot of great competition,” said Berloco, who started swimming at age 8, following in the footsteps of her older sister.

“It has been really good getting to know the other high school swimmers. It is a really close team and they do a lot together and it is just really nice to be part of it.”

Berloco has enjoyed training and competing with PHS junior sprinting star Brianna Romaine. “There is a lot of healthy competition between us,” said Berloco.

Last week, Berloco showed her competitive fire in a 107-63 victory over WW/P-N, taking first in both the 200 and 100 freestyle races.

“I am really a sprinter, I like high school swimming because it gives me a chance to swim different events,” said Berloco. “The 200 is a little long but it is something to work on at the beginning of the season. I really like the 100 free, it is one of my better events.”

PHS head coach Carly Misiewicz saw Berloco’s performance in the 200 as a reflection of her will to win.

“Abbey is so competitive; she was a lap ahead in the 200 today and she didn’t let up, that is the mark of a true competitor,” said Misiewicz. “I saw her times from the weekend at her club meet and I thought the 200 free looked like a good event for her.”

First-year coach Misiewicz likes the way her girls’ team is competing collectively.

“They have such a great attitude,” said Misiewicz of the squad which improved to 6-0 with a 120-50 win over Notre Dame last Monday. “They know they have a good team and they are in it to win it.”

The PHS boys’ team showed a good attitude as they beat WW/P-N 102-68 to bounce back strongly from an 87-83 loss to WW/P-S on December 9, which snapped a run of 48 straight Colonial Valley Conference dual-meet wins.

“That was a tough loss but we had a lot of personal bests in the meet,” said Misiewicz, whose boys’ squad moved to 4-2 with a 109-61 loss to Notre Dame last Monday. “They said OK we will get them in the counties. I think it gives them extra motivation.”

In the victory over WW/P-N, the boys’ team found an extra gear. “They were excited for the meet today,” said Misiewicz, who got wins against the Northern Knights from Alex Petruso in both the 100 free and 100 backstroke with Gabriel Bar-Cohen winning the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

“We tried some guys at different events today. It is good for them to not always be swimming the same races.”

Berloco, for her part, is determined to race better and better when PHS starts the 2015 portion of its schedule with a meet at Hightstown on January 6.

“I am just hoping for some more personal bests and having a really good season,” said Berloco, who lowered her 50 free time to 24.16 in the victory over Notre Dame on Monday and puts in five or six two-hour training sessions a week with her Hamilton club.

“My goals are I just want to improve and I want to keep enjoying the sport. This team is a great team. I think that we have a good shot at counties this year and I hope with hard work and a lot of dedication that we can really go somewhere this season.”