As the Princeton High boys’ swimming team entered the 400-yard freestyle relay against visiting Notre Dame last Thursday, it had no chance to win the meet.

“I looked at them and said I don’t care what the score is, they may have already won by now but the meet is not over and so we finish that relay and go out there and win,” said PHS head coach Carly Misiewicz.

The quartet of senior Alex Petruso, freshman Jeshurun Reyen, senior Will Kinney, and junior Oliver Hunsbedt followed their coach’s instructions to a tee, coming from behind in thrilling fashion to win the race with the crowd at the John Witherspoon pool roaring in appreciation.

“Alex got everybody off to a great start; Jeshurun was tough out there,” said Misiewicz, reflecting on the relay.

“Something we have been working on with Will is underwater on his turns and that alone put him half a body length ahead. He knew that he had to get a lead because Oliver came from the breaststroke and was winded from that. Oliver had a phenomenal swim, he swam a 50.2 and afterwards he told me that was his best time ever. For him to do that just shows the heart and passion they really have for the sport.”

While PHS lost 94-76 to Notre Dame, the victorious relay was emblematic of the team’s strong spirit as Petruso placed first in the 100 free and 100
backstroke while Hunsbedt won the 100 breast and junior Dan Barberis prevailed in the 50 free.

“It is funny, not that sprinting wasn’t our strong point before, but they are really excelling in that right now,” said Misiewicz.

Senior stars Kinney and Petruso are giving the Little Tigers good leadership to go with their strong performances in the water.

“Will and Alex are both captains, they are definitely stepping up to the plate,” said Misiewicz.

“Will is a full-time high school swimmer so he is here every single day, always putting 110 percent effort in. He is definitely someone that I go to for anything, to get them in the water, to get dry land started. Alex is a club swimmer so he is not with us 24/7 but whenever he comes, he fits right in. They always have such positive attitudes, they are real quick if they don’t have the best swim to realize that other people are having a great swim.”

The Little Tigers boast a talented group of freshmen who are making a positive impact.

“Some people who have definitely impressed me so far are Joshurun, Calvin Ristad, he swam the 200 and 500 for us, and Jason Kratzer,” said Misiewicz.

Even though PHS absorbed two losses in the first week of the season as it fell 101-69 to WW/P-S in its season opener on November 29, Misiewicz believes that her squad gained some valuable lessons from the setbacks.

“They knew that Notre Dame and South are probably the hardest two meets of the entire year; I think it is a really good learning experience to have them first,” said Misiewicz, whose team hosts Nottingham on December 8 before competing at WW/P-N on December 13.

“Yes we are 0-2 but the margin that we lost by really isn’t that significant. It isn’t like we are getting blown out of the water. We just have a lot of newcomers this year so it is finding what works.”