The Montclair Kimberley girls swimming team had never joined the fray of the state team tournament.
Until this season. The Cougars girls entered the Non Public Group B tourney as the third seed and also wound up winning a round.
They defeated sixth- seeded Morristown-Beard, 102-48, in the quarterfinals before falling to their rival, second-seeded Newark Academy, 99-71. The Cougars finished with a 4-6 mark.
“Being that this was the first year we entered the state team playoffs, I was extremely proud of the girls team and how they rose up to compete against great competition,” head coach Gretchen Ievers said.
Ievers hopes 2022-23 will be a springboard for the girls team for next season, and that the boys team will grow next year. The boys had only six swimmers on the team and finished with a 1-6 dual meet record.
Ievers does have five of the six returning for 2023-24. The lone graduate will be senior Julian Hough.
“If our boys team can grow in numbers and compete in states that would be a huge win for MKA,” the coach said.
The top boys swimmer was junior Payara Ekrami, who made the All Super Essex Conference honorable mention list. Ekrami’s best event was the 50 freestyle, where he posted a best time of 25.61.
On the girls side, junior Hannah Ewing garnered an All SEC honorable mention nod. Ewing excelled at the distance events, the 200 freestyle, with a best time of 2:01.63, and the 500 freestyle, with a top time of 5:15.83.
Ewing brought out her best against tough competition in the Super Essex Conference/Essex County Championships, where she had her best time in the 200 freestyle and finished fifth.
“She is such a strong competitor, with drive and determination,” Ievers said. “Her future is bright, and I believe she will continue to improve each season.”
The girls team could have easily flipped to a winning record at two meets that went the other way. Montclair Kimberley lost them by 12 or fewer points, 53-41, at Livingston on Jan. 31 and 86-81 against Caldwell on Jan. 3.
Ievers said the team’s best dual meets were also two defeats, the first at Mount St. Dominic, 99-69, on Jan. 26, and the state semifinals defeat to Newark Academy.
“We put up a great fight during our meet against Newark Academy in the state tournament,” the coach said.
Along with Ewing, the other MKA girls on the team who contributed dual meets points were senior Lindsay Driever, freshman Sasha Steele, sophomore Madeleine Young, freshman Maren Wheeler and sophomore Marie Ievers, the coach’s daughter.
All six contributed to the team’s success, especially at the county championships, where the girls finished sixth in the team standings. Driever had the best finish, with a third place in the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:16.88. Driever will be the biggest hole to fill next season; she was the lone senior on the team.
“I was thrilled with a sixth-place finish for the girls,” Ievers said after the county meet. “Last year we placed 10th, and we only had six girls [this season]. It was a great showing.”