OH BROTHER: Princeton High boys’ swimmer Jaiden Xu displays his freestyle form in a meet earlier this season. Last Friday, junior Xu placed first in the 200-yard individual medley, edging twin brother David, and second in the 500 freestyle to help second-seeded PHS top third-seeded Summit 92-78 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North 2 Group B sectional semis. The Tigers, now 13-0, face top-seeded Chatham in the sectional final on February 14 at the Raritan Bay Aquatic Center in Perth Amboy. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Jaiden Xu produced a personal breakthrough as the second-seeded Princeton High boys’ swim team edged third-seeded Summit 92-78 in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North 2 Group B sectional semis last Friday.

Racing against his twin brother David in the 200-yard individual medley, Xu took first just ahead of his brother, earning his first triumph in the IM sibling rivalry.

“I was really happy that I was able to win an event,” said junior standout Xu. “That was the first time I have beat him.”

While excited to get the win, Xu saw the 1-2 finish with his brother as the most meaningful aspect of the race.

“I got the win but we got 1-2 so that’s the best thing,” said Xu. “We really just wanted that first and second place just to get more points in each event.”

The Xu twins have made each other better as they also compete together with the X-Cel swim club.

“We push each other, we train at Princeton,” said Xu. “Every day in practice, we try to beat each other.”

In the win over Summit, the brothers piled up points for the Tigers as Jaiden took second in the 500 freestyle and David won the 100 butterfly. Those efforts were critical as the meet turned into a nip-and-tuck battle with PHS trailing early and clinging to a 72-68 lead heading into the final event.

“We came into this meet, we know they are strong but we didn’t expect them to have the speed that they had today,” said Xu. “There were some disqualifications that held us back, but I think we pulled back really good. My teammates are really amazing, we did our part today.”

In the 500 free, Xu produced a strong performance as he battled Summit star Will Moon stroke for stroke, getting edged by .06.

“It was a little rough for me; coming off the 200 IM, I still had some lactic acid,” said Xu. “Will Moon is really fast. I got a good race with a 4:45. Going into next meet, I hope to improve on that.”

The meet came down to the 400 free relay with the Tigers needing at least
a second place finish to
prevail. Swimming the lead-off leg, Xu help the PHS A relay take first as the Tigers pulled out the win and improved to 13-0. The Tigers will now face top-seeded Chatham in the sectional final on February 14 at the Raritan Bay Aquatic Center in Perth Amboy.

“I didn’t have the best start,” said Xu. “I put all of my trust into my teammates. They really know how to come back, they really know how to go fast. I am really thankful for them, this year we have a really strong squad.”

In reflecting on the team’s strong season, Xu credited an upbeat spirit on the deck as a critical factor.

“It is teamwork, we all motivate each other every day,” said Xu. “If someone has a bad race, we never talk down on them. We always say it is one race, you can always improve next time. We try to keep it positive here.”

Xu has brought extra motivation into this season. “I have spent more time in the gym and team bonding gave me more confidence in the pool,” said Xu. “Overall, I have been getting my happiness up with the sport.”

PHS head coach Carly (Misiewicz) Fackler was happy to see her boys’ squad overcome the challenge from Summit.

“It was super close, down by two, tied, up by two, it was just back and forth, we 100 percent expected that going into it,” said Fackler. “I knew Summit was going to bring it, they are always up there with us. Last year we saw them in the same situation and I knew that they were even stronger this year than they were last year. I think we were just really excited to have a good meet, gearing up for the rest of states.”

In Fackler’s view, the Xu twins have played a key role in gearing up the Tigers for the postseason run.

“Jaiden is somebody who has really, really impressed me from freshman year but even the amount that he has improved from last year to this year is great,” said Fackler. “They are both so humble too, they both push each other. They are both such great competitors and such great athletes. At the end of the day, for them to go 1-2 is all we ever wanted. We needed those points today and we will need them in the next round too. To see what they are capable of and how they push each other, they bring out the best in each other and even others that they are swimming and racing with as well. They bring everybody up with them.”

The Tigers got several good swims against Summit with individual victors including David Brophy in the 200 free, Daniel Guo in the 100 free, and Henry Xu in the 100 breaststroke.

“David did two relatively close races time wise and he was able to go a personal best time in the 200 free,” said Fackler. “Zach Guan had a very nice swim in the 100 fly, the fact that we went 1-2, he out-touched by a 100th of a second to get second. That was a great race; we had a lot of really good races across the board.”

PHS ended the day with some great racing in the 400 free relay as the season hung in the balance.

“We needed second, I had all of the confidence in the world in our guys,” said Fackler. “You don’t really let on that, we want them to work for it. We don’t want them to be like we have got this one. It was that statement piece, that icing on the cake at the end, to go 1-3 was amazing.”

In Fackler’s view, pulling out the nail-biter was a confidence builder for her squad.

“It being our last home meet, you never want to lose at home,” said Fackler. “That adds that extra little incentive and motivating factor.”

As the Tigers face nemesis and top-seeded Chatham in the sectional final, Fackler believes her swimmers will be motivated to bring their best to the pool.

“They have been on our radar from last year,” said Fackler, whose boys’ squad lost to Chatham in the Public B state final in 2022 and the sectional final last season to suffer their only two losses over the last three seasons. “Every now and then their name pops up nonchalantly and I am like OK, yeah, yeah, cool, let’s focus on right now. That will be Wednesday.”

Xu and his teammates are primed for the rematch against Chatham.

“We are stoked for it, we are all ready to give them our best,” said Xu. “Hopefully we can pull the upset.”