SPEED RACER: Princeton High boys’ swimming star Daniel Barberis displays his freestyle form earlier ths season. Last Saturday, senior star and co-captain Barberis won both the 50 and 100 freestyle races to help PHS defeat Hopewell Valley 102-68. The Little Tigers, who improved to 7-3 with the victory, were slated to face WW/P-South on January 16 in their final regular season meet before taking part in the Mercer County Championships from January 25-27 at WW/P-North. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Daniel Barberis doesn’t like to linger in the water, but that hasn’t kept him from emerging as a star for the Princeton High boys’ swimming team.

Getting into the sport as a grade-schooler in Laramie, Wyoming, Barberis gravitated to the the shorter events.

“I was a sprinter right from the start, I tried long distance before but I just don’t have the build to stay swimming for a long time,” said Barberis, who joined the PHS swim team as a freshman after his family moved to the area. “I do more of the blasts out rather than spend a lot of time in the water.”

This winter, senior star Barberis is blasting to plenty of wins for PHS, starring at the 50 and 100 freestyle.

Although he doesn’t compete year round for a club program, Barberis has been able to markedly drop his times while training exclusively with the Little Tigers.

“My freshman year 50 free was 26 seconds and now I am at 22.7, so I have definitely made a lot of progress,” said Barberis.

“It is both experience and really working on specific technique. I have built a better understanding of the freestyle. We have workouts every day and I have worked hard with the coaches.”

Reflecting on his move to Princeton, Barberis acknowledged that it took him a while to build bonds with his new teammates.

“It was definitely hard; I got used to it and made friends here as the years went on,” said Barberis. “Now that I really know the coaches and my teammates, I have a lot of fun on the team.”

Now serving as a team captain, Barberis is looking to keep things fun on the deck for PHS.

“My approach was laid back but also assertive,” said Barberis. “This is the first time I have ever really been a captain of anything, so I was just going to try new things. It is a lot of responsibility, but I can handle it.”

Barberis is excited by how PHS has handled its business this winter. “The team has done surprisingly well since the beginning,” said Barberis, who won both the 50 and 100 freestyle races to help PHS defeat Hopewell Valley 102-68 and improve to 7-3. “We didn’t really think we would win as much as we have.”

With the Mercer County Championships slated for January 25-27 at WW/P-North, Barberis is primed to keep doing well.

“I will definitely try to make the finals; if I do that is awesome,” said Barberis, noting that he made the ‘A’ final in both the 50 and 100 free events at the 2017 county meet.

“It is the climax of the season so we are all building towards that. It is a lot of fun, so we will see how it goes.”