The Alternative Press

NEW PROVIDENCE, NJ - The 2012-2013 swim season ended with strong performances at the county and state tournament championships for the New Providence Pioneers.

At the Union County championships, the girls finished in third place overall, while the boys came in fifth. Six swimmers swam to top 6 places at the county meet at Rutgers University. 

Kelly Carroll, who was recently honored as NJ High School swimmer of the week by the Star Ledger and nj.com, led the girls with two county titles in the 200 yard IM and the 500 yard freestyle.  She lowered her own school and county championship record in the IM.  Lucia Donnelly added a 3^rd place finish in the 100 yard freestyle and a 4^th in the 100 yard backstroke. 

Erica Wirth placed 4^th in the 500 yard freestyle and Sara Misiukiewicz was 4^th in the 50 yare freestyle. Both the 200 yard medley and 200 yard freestyle relay teams raced to 3^rd place finishes. The medley relay team of Donnelly, Carroll, Misiukiewicz, and Wirth set a new school record in the process, and the same girls competed in the sprint free relay.  The 400 yard free relay team of Alex Esposito, Megan Sullivan, Juliana Ruta, and Nicole Kelly swam to 6^th place finish. 

On the boys side, Harry Clewell finished 2^nd in 100 yard fly and 3^rd in 100 yard backstroke, setting a new school records in both events. The 200 yard medley relay team of Michael Glendenning, David Hua, Clewell and Dan Patel finished 4^th, also setting a new school record. The 200 yard freestyle relay team of Patel, Will Turner, Brendan Turner, and J.R. O’Connor was 5^th, while the 400 yard freestyle relay team of Glendinning, Hua, O’Connor, and Clewell finished 4^th.

A number of swimmers represented NPHS at the JV County, held at Plainfield High School, where many swam personal bests in a variety of events. Standout performances for the boys' team included Mark Hodges, Kevin Urness, Drew Mullins, and Aage Vetter.  Erin Burke, Nicole Dillon, Ally Mansfield, Erin Clewell, and Katy Tselepsis were notable for the girls' team.

New Providence also qualified for the state tournament for the first time in 24 years. Both the girls' and boys' teams made it to the North Jersey Group B sectional semi-finals. In the first round, the girls team defeated Caldwell High School before losing a close meet in the next round to sectional finalist Mendham. 

The boys' team earned a hard-fought battle against Mendham, before eventually falling to state champ Summit.  Both teams posted excellent dual meet records for the season. The boys' finished the season 9-6, while the girls' were 12-4.    

NPHS honored its current record holders in a post-meet ceremony to dedicate its new record board, which was donated by the Booster Club. Steve Duttenhoffer, 1989 NPHS graduate and holder of 6 records who later captained the University of Michigan swim team, was on hand for the event. He was joined by John Closs of New Providence, who has tracked the team’s records over the years and is represented on the record board by his children Kim, class of 2010, and John, class of 2005. They were joined by current team record holders Carroll (200 yard free, 200 yard IM, 100 yard fly, 500 yard free), Clewell (100 yard fly, 100 yard backstroke), and new relay record holders, Donnelly, Misiukiewicz and Wirth (girls' 200 yard medley relay with Carroll) and Patel, Glendinning and Hua (boys' 200 yard medley relay with Clewell). 

Four girls and one boy represented NPHS at the NJSIAA Meet of Champions on March 2 and 3. Harry Clewell competed in the 100 yard fly and the 100 yard backstroke. He finished fifteenth in the state in the fly, lowering his team record time. Kelly Carroll finished in 15^th place in the 200 yard free and 9^th in the 100 yard fly. Lucia Donnelly swam in the 100 yard backstroke and the 100 yard free. She set a school record in the back and finished 16^th in the free. Sara Misiukiewicz competed in the 50 yard free and the 100 yard fly. Isabelle Malinowski swam the 100 yard breaststroke. The four girls combined to finish 13^th overall in the 200 yard medley relay and 6^th in the 200 yard free relay. They re-set the school record in the medley relay.

Graduating pioneers were honored at the last home meet at the Morris-Union Jointure. Honors went to seniors Kelly Carroll, Caroline van Kimmenaede, Alexandra Esposito, Cailley LaPara, Natalie Fagan, Harry Clewell, Michael Glendinning, Steve Bronocco, Jamie Currie, Andrew Hodges, Sam Kudman, and Mike Molstad.

“The seniors will be missed," said Coach Walter Kempner. "They are an excellent group of swimmers, but even better people.”

Kempner summed up the year, saying “This year’s teams were the most talented ones I have coached since I started in 2004. As far as I know, they turned in the best dual meet records in school history.  It was our first trip to the state tourney in a long time. Our seniors provided outstanding performances and leadership, and they will be dearly missed. The combination of their achievements, along with the infusion of young talent will keep NPHS swimming successful for future years. For a small school, we will continue to gain recognition for our swimming program. The future looks bright."