Montclair Dolphins swimmers win top spots at Ocean County meet

The Montclair Dolphins swimmers won big at the Dec. 17 through Dec. 19 Winter Classic swim meet in Ocean County, led by new coach Alex Boutov.

The Dolphins sent a team of 49 swimmers to the event, according to the YMCA of Montclair. They came away with a haul of 22 qualifying times for the Sunkissed Invitational Event, which takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, in March.

Senior swimmers Nead Kojic and Leo Powers took first and second place in the 100-yard breaststroke, and Powers also took top spot in the 200-yard fly. Powers finished on the podium in six events at the meet, contested by eight New Jersey YMCA teams.

Swimmer Vicky Sluk had top three finishes in the 100 fly and 100 and 200 backstroke events for the 11- to 12-year-old girls. Sam Holbech came in third in the 50 backstroke for 11- to 12-year-old boys.

In addition to the top-three finishers, other swimmers that qualified for Charlotte were seniors Emily Cadogan, Ellen Last, Ryan McMahon and Katie Song. Of the 13 to 14-year-olds, Sefina Morrison, Stella Bourne and Laruen Espiritu notched up Sunkissed times, while 11 to 12-year-olds Charlotte Roeland and Jonas Foung also qualified.

— Information provided by the YMCA of Montclair