SJ Sports: Swim Preview

Now that Pheasant Run of Cinnaminson has earned two titles in two weeks, the Flyers are headed for the South Jersey swimming triple crown. Earlier, the Flyers won the Division A title of the Tri-County Swim League. This past weekend, they edged rival Deer Brook to win the Burlington County championship.

Now comes the third leg of the triple crown, which promises to be difficult, but attainable for Pheasant Run.

On Saturday and Sunday at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Pheasant Run will attempt to win its third straight Tri-County championship. The Flyers have won seven of the past nine titles of the 36-team Tri-County League. The co-ed league is for swimmer from 8 and under up to 18-years-old.

This is a remarkable feat considering how many talented teams there are in the Camden, Gloucester and Burlington County areas.

Pheasant Run is built on its strength its tremendous depth. Last year the Flyers won just one individual event in the Tri-County championships, but kept piling up points for its many second, third and fourth place finishes.

More of the same is expected this year. While the Burlington County teams have dominated recently in the Tri-County championship, Greenwood Park of Gloucester County can’t be discounted. Last week Greenwood Park of Washington Township won the Gloucester County championship in convincing fashion, beating second place Greenfields, 751 to 632.

During the regular season Greenwood Park went 4-1, with the only loss to Pheasant Run. Yet the Frogs didn’t have their entire team at the meet, which isn’t an excuse, just merely a fact. Everybody is expected to be on hand for the Tri-County championships.

"We think we can be competitive," said Greenwood Park first-year coach Matt Sprang, who has done an outstanding job taking over for long-time coach Tony Lisa. "A lot will depend on how we do in the relays."

Eric Brumberg, who was the South Jersey high school swimmer of the year at Washington Township, will be a key for Greenwood Park. He set the Gloucester County record for the 15-18-year-old 200 meter individual medley, in a time of 2 minutes, 4.47 seconds. Brumberg was also a member of two winning relays.

In the Gloucester County meet, a swimmer is allowed to enter just one individual race and two relays. At Tri-County, swimmers can compete in two individual races and two relays. That would seem to be a benefit to a team like Greenwood Park, which would have swimmers such as Brumberg compete in more than one individual event.

Last year Pheasant Run won the Tri-County meet with a score of 1,124 points. Deer Brook was second with 1,073.5, followed by Westwood of Mount Holly (1069) and Greenwood Park (900). Don’t expect Greenwood Park to be a distant fourth this time.

While the competition may not be as strong in Gloucester County as it is in Burlington County, it’s still very competitive and Greenwood Park still had little trouble winning its third straight Gloucester County title.

In winning the Gloucester County title, Greenwood Park captured 11 relays. The Frogs, or any other team, can’t be expected to come close to winning that many relays. However, if Greenwood Park can capture four or five and be competitive in the others, then the Frogs might be the top pursuer of Pheasant Run, a team that won’t relinquish its dominance very easily.

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Author: Marc Narducci