A year after falling just short in the Somerset County Championships, Pingry girls swim team returned last Saturday and pulled off a dramatic win of their own.
Fueled by four event victories and 11 top-three finishes, Pingry racked up 237 points to narrowly edge out Hillsborough (231.5) and claim the team title at the Somerset County Championships.
The victory gives Pingry a championship trifecta heading into the state tournament. The Big Blue also won both the Prep ‘A’ championship and Skyland Conference title.
Pingry, ranked No. 4 in NJ.com’s Top 20, kicked things off with a victory in the 200 medley relay with Hailey Rushforth, Alexia Davies, TingTing Luo, Maria Pontoriero, who clocked 1:48.17.
The hot start continued for Pingry, as Sofia Karnaugh clocked an MOC cut of 1:57.99 to win the 200 free.
TingTing Luo added a second place finish in the 100 free, while also taking third in the 200 IM. Maria Pontoriero finished as the county runner-up in the 50 free and also took third in the backstroke.
Pingry’s 400 free relay of Maria Pontoriero, Sofia Karnaugh, Giulia Caligiuri, TingTing Luo snagged second overall with a time of 3:41.80, a crucial finish that helped the Big Blue clinch the title.
Hillsborough, ranked No. 2 in NJ.com’s Top 20, had a pair of double champions in junior Emily Sudol and freshman Olivia Kay.
Sudol successfully defended her county titles in the 200 IM (2:07.08) and 500 free (5:10.70), while Olivia Kay snagged wins in the 50 free (24.27) and 100 free (53.18).
| SOMERSET COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIPS, GIRLS TEAM SCORES |
|---|
| 1-Pingry, 237 |
| 2-Hillsborough, 231 |
| 3-Bridgewater-Raritan, 188 |
| 4-Ridge, 118.5 |
| 5-Watchung Hills, 104.5 |
| 6-Bernards, 100 |
| 7-Rutgers Prep, 82 |
| 8-Montgomery, 62 |
| 9-Mount St. Mary, 45 |
| 9-Immaculata, 45 |
| 11-Somerville, 37 |
| 12-Gill St. Bernard’s, 10 |
| 13-Franklin, 3 |
Top 3 Finishers
*includes meet record
200 Medley Relay
1-Pingry: 1:48.17 (Hailey Rushforth, Alexia Davies, TingTing Luo, Maria Pontoriero)
2-Bridgewater-Raritan (1:52.00)
3-Hillsborough (1:53.75)
200 Freestyle
1-Sofia Karnaugh, Pingry (1:57.99)
2-Giavanna Larosa, Bridgewater-Raritan (1:59.91)
3-Rebecca Clemente, Watchung Hills (2:00.44)
200 IM
1-Emily Sudol, Hillsborough (2:07.08)
2-Mila Daniels, Bridgewater-Raritan (2:08.14)
3-TingTing Luo, Pingry (2:11.63)
50 Freestyle
1-Olivia Kay, Hillsborough (24.27)
2-Maria Pontoriero, Pingry (24.29)
3-Molly Hunziker, Bernards (25.05)
100 Fly
1-Isabella Mattos, Bernards (57.79)
2-Dylan Briones, Hillsborough (58.36)
3-Zoe Bitterman, Montgomery (1:01.35)
100 Freestyle
1-Olivia Kay, Hillsborough (53.18)
2-TingTing Luo, Pingry (53.61)
3-Vivian Yu, Watchung Hills (54.27)
500 Freestyle
1-Emily Sudol, Hillsborough (5:10.70)
2-Sofia Karnaugh, Pingry (5:18.54)
3-Emily Black-Wright, Rutgers Prep (5:20.53)
200 Freestyle Relay
1-Hillsborough: 1:42.05 (Olivia Kay, Megan Wishnow, Tammy Leng, Emily Sudol)
2-Ridge (1:42.78)
3-Bridgewater-Raritan (1:43.33)
100 Back
1-Hailey Rushforth, Pingry (58.98)
2-Dylan Briones, Hillsborough (59.39)
3-Maria Pontoriero, Pingry (59.82)
100 Breast
1-Petra Karnaugh, Immaculata (1:04.28)
2-Alexia Davies, Pingry (1:04.54)
3-Mila Daniels, Bridgewater-Raritan (1:06.51)
400 Freestyle Relay
1-Hillsborough: 3:38.03 (Emily Sudol, Tammy Leng, Olivia Kay, Dylan Briones)
2-Pingry (3:41.80)
3-Bridgewater-Raritan (3:49.35)
