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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Applegate Enjoyed Wearing 2 Hats As Swimmer-Coach for CP Bluefish
By Bill Alden
At a shade under 6'9, swimming star Jesse Applegate is a towering figure for the Community Park Bluefish swim team. This summer, the recently graduated Princeton High standout made his considerable presence felt both in and out of the water for the Bluefish.
In the pool, the powerful Applegate was a force, earning co-Most Valuable Swimmer honors at the Princeton Area Swimming and Diving Association (PASDA) championship meet last week at Rutgers' Sonny Werblin Recreation Center.
Applegate set the meet record in winning the Men¹s 17 and under 50-yard freestyle in 22:08. The versatile Applegate also won the 50 backstroke in 26.18 and the 50 butterfly in 24.62. He anchored CP's win in the 200 free relay
On the deck, Applegate made a valuable contribution as he and former PHS teammate Nate Ristuccia helped coach the program¹s nine and ten-year-old swimmers.
For the genial Applegate, taking a turn at coaching made this summer particularly memorable. "It was quite an experience for me to have my first coaching job," said Applegate, who led PHS to four Central Jersey Public B sectional titles and will be swimming for Rutgers University this winter.
"I coached alongside Nate because we had the biggest group, about 30 swimmers a day most of the time. We gave them the whole works. We both know what serious swimmers do and we tried to teach them the skills we have learned. They had a lot of fun and I think they looked up to us. I think we did a pretty good job."
A vital part of the young swimmers' education this summer was the opportunity to observe their mentor in action.
"They got to see me swim," said a grinning Applegate. "From what I heard they really liked watching me swim."
The Bluefish squad collectively liked watching Applegate compete as his dominant sprinting helped the team go 5-0-1 in dual meets, tying Cranbury for the PASDA Division I regular season title.
While Applegate acknowledges that summer league swimming has a relaxed feel about it, he is proud of what he accomplished last season competing with the team.
"I started swimming with the Bluefish when I was eight," said Applegate, who competes year-round on the club level for the Princeton-based X-Cel swim program.
"It's summer league and it's all fun but we had some pretty intense races. I remember against West Windsor when we won by 10 points and it came down to the last relay. I had to catch up half a pool length to win it for us."
Applegate is primed to produce some of the same heroics as he starts his Rutgers swimming career.
"I really liked the school when I visited, I'm very excited," said Applegate, who expects to be a sprinting specialist for the Scarlet Knights, the fourth place finishers in the Big East championship meet last summer.
"The coach (Chuck Warner) is incredible and the team was great, it's more like a family. This is what I had in high school and with the Bluefish, a real sense of camaraderie."
