Their championship winning streak began with a Skyland Conference victory on January 21, followed by a victory at the Somerset County Championships on February 4, and, just three days later, a Prep Championship win. It was only fitting that, on February 25, wrapping up their regular season competition, the Boys' Varsity Swim Team would defeat Oratory Prep, 131-39, in the NJSIAA Non-Public "B" finals to become only the second team in the history of New Jersey high school swimming to win a state title for 10 consecutive years.

In a laudatory article after the team's historic state win, NJ.com called the program "deep and talented," recognizing the ease with which they compete alongside perennial state powerhouses, nearly all of which are much larger schools than Pingry. Following their Prep Championship win in early February, Head Coach Steve Droste called the team the most talented in his more than 20 years of coaching at Pingry (having coached two Olympic Trials qualifiers, Nic Fink '11 and Sebastian Lutz '15, he knows talent).

In their remarkable journey this season, the boys were only the third team in Pingry history to win the Skyland Conference, Somerset County, and Prep titles in a single season. There were many highlights along the way:

NJSIAA Non-Public "B" Finals
• Big Blue opened the meet with five straight 1-2-3 finishes; the team went on to finish 1-2 in every event but the 100 breaststroke, in which it went 2-3-5.
• Victor Vollbrechthausen '18 took first in both the 200-freestyle (1:45.57) and 100- freestyle (48.29). He was also part of the winning 200-freestyle relay team with Leighton Mayers '19, William Zhang '18, and Kevin Ma '19 (1:31.50), and the winning 400-freestyle relay team along with Dillon Shu '19, Matt Stanton '18, and Sean Tan '18 (3:25.80).
• Other individual winners included Dillon (200 IM, 1:59.44), William (50 freestyle, 22.28), Leighton (100 fly, 52.63; 100 back, 54.85), and Matt (500 free, 4:53.01).

Prep Championships
• Big Blue won its second consecutive Prep title by over 200 points, the largest margin in meet history. The Girls' Varsity Swim Team also took first, making it a Pingry sweep.
• Leighton was named Swimmer of the Meet, winning the 100-yard butterfly (51.11) and setting a school, meet, and 36-year-old pool record in the 100-yard backstroke (50.53), a time worthy of All-American consideration.
• The team swept all three relays, setting a meet record in the 400-freestyle relay in All-American consideration time.
• Sean set a meet record in the 200 IM (1:54.17).
• Victor broke Nic Fink's school record in the 200-freestyle (1:42.02)

Somerset County Championships
• Besting their next closest competitor, Bridgewater-Raritan, by more than 60 points, Pingry wins the county championships, winning two of the three relays.
• Victor wins the 200-yard free (1:42:08) and 100-yard free (47:03)
• Matt places third in the 200-yard free (1:45.70) and wins the 500-yard free (4:44.52)
• Leighton wins the 100-yard butterfly (51:42) and 100-yard backstroke (52.26)

Skyland Conference Championships
• The team won six of 11 events, including all three relays.
• Victor won the 200 freestyle (1:45.67), Sean won the 200 IM (1:54.11), and Will (21.45) and Leighton (21.69) took first and second in the 50 freestyle.
• Leighton also won the 100 butterfly (51.37).

As Coach Droste noted, "It was a very, very impressive season. I expect in 15 years, this year's team will be nominated for induction into the Pingry Athletics Hall of Fame."

Congratulations, Big Blue!

Contact: Andrea Dawson, Senior Writer, adawson@pingry.org