SOMERSET VALLEY YMCA CAPTURES THREE NATIONAL TITLES

Somerset Valley YMCA swimmers were crowned National Champions in three races – one individual event and two relays - at the highly competitive 2014 YMCA Short Course National Championship meet held in Greensboro, N.C. earlier this month.

Zack Warner of Montgomery claimed the individual National Champion title in the 200-yard breaststroke, edging out his competitors with a time of 1.56.61 and setting a new state record. Last year, Warner placed third in the event.

Warner was seeded third going in the race, but said Head Coach Matt Donovan and the assistant coaches gave him the boost he needed to win. “We looked at the two guys seeded in front of me and all of the coaches told me reasons why they thought I could beat them. And that definitely gave me confidence going into finals. They thought I could do it, but I didn’t know for sure until I won,” he said.

Warner was also was part of a winning men’s 400 medley relay along with swimmers Brad Zroik of Hillsborough, Joe Del Buono of Hillsborough and Jason Tan of Bridgewater. Warner, Zdroik, Del Buono and Sam Hendrix of Hillsborough also powered their way to a national title in the men’s 200 medley relay. Warner and Zdroik were on winning relays last year but had lost their other relay team members _ David Chung and Dylan Sali_ to graduation last year. Hendrix was at his first-ever nationals meet.

 “In both relays, we had two guys who were not as experienced in terms of being in a relay at this level and it was awesome to see them swim fast when they needed to and to handle the pressure. Without them, this would not have been possible,” said Warner, a team captain who ended his high school swim career with a total of eight national Y titles.

The Somerset Valley YMCA women also had impressive swims, capturing third place in 200 freestyle relay. Swimmers Lindsay Temple of Hillsborough, Katie King of Montgomery, Holly Christensen of Whitehouse Station and Katrina Kuhn of Piscataway not only won a medal, they broke a New Jersey record. Individual top five finishes included Christensen coming in third in the 50 freestyle, with teammate Kuhn placing fourth. Zdroik captured third place in the 50-freestyle, setting yet another New Jersey swimming record.

Overall, the team placed fifth out of more than 100 teams, with boys also coming in fifth, and the girls taking sixth place. The meet took place April 1-4. Last year, the team placed fifth overall.

"This was an extremely impressive national team we put up this season. When you factor in the numbers that we lost last season due to graduation and what we asked of the rookies; I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Donovan. “We were about 10 less swimmers from last year and to put up almost similar results, speaks highly to the effort and focus of these very talented young athletes. This was a true team effort, from everyone back home cheering us on to the team in the water in North Carolina.”

Temple, a high school senior and team captain said, “We were all a little nervous but we were excited too because we knew we had put in a lot of work and we wanted to see what we could do.” Temple, who will continue her swimming career at Princeton University next fall, credited the team and its coaches for preparing her for college – not only for swimming at a university level, but also in the classroom.

“This has helped me grow as a person. It’s definitely not easy going to school after a 5 a.m. practice, but you learn to push through it. It gives you a certain mental toughness that I don’t think you could get anywhere else,” she said. Before heading to Greensboro, the team had just won its fifth consecutive and sixth overall YMCA State Champion title, breaking 19 team records. The team also won the 2014 New Jersey Y Silver State Champion title.

More than 400 young athletes train with the team each year at its three branch facilities in Bridgewater, Somerville, and Hillsborough. Swimmers compete at all levels, based on their ability and performance. Outside of their training in the pool, Somerset Valley YMCA swimmers are provided with education on goal-setting, leadership development, mental training, nutrition, and many other topics. For more information about the SVY swim team including tryout times, visit their website at www.svynj.org.