LEONARDO – With only nine freshmen swimmers, Trinity Hall is truly making a splash on the New Jersey high school swimming scene during its inaugural season, qualifying four swimmers to compete in the prestigious NJSIAA Individual Swim Championships, better know as the Meet of Champions.
Caroline Gmelich, Abby Marcin, Lily Scott and Malia Wolf will represent the Monarchs in the 200-medley relay and the 400-freestyle relay at the “Meet of Champions,” which will be held on March 1 and 2 at GCIT in Sewell. Gmelich and Wolf also will compete in two individual events each with Wolf looking to advance to the finals in the 100 butterfly and Gmelich, who is the current N.J. state record-holder in the 13-14 age group 100 backstroke, expecting to be a top finisher in this event.
“As a former N.J. high school swimmer, I can truly appreciate the accomplishment these young girls have achieved by qualifying for the Meet of Champions,” said assistant coach Katie Gillen, who swam for Mount St. Mary Academy in Watchung, before competing for Providence College, and who previously coached at Chatham High School. “They should be proud of earning the opportunity to represent their school at the most elite high school swimming competition in the state.”
Last month at the Monmouth County championships, the team from the new, all-girls high school accumulated enough points to place fifth out of 24 teams, but since first-year teams are not eligible to score points, the Monarchs will have to wait until next year to be included in the team results.
Earlier in the month, Trinity Hall officially placed third out of 10 teams at the NJISAA Prep “B” State Championships. They were led by Gmelich, who placed second in the 100 backstroke with a time that broke both the meet and pool records, and Wolf, who took second in the 100 butterfly. Both girls also placed in the top six in their other individual events.
“Before the season started, I knew our team had tremendous talent and potential, but their performances this winter far exceeded my expectations,” said head coach Alyssa Morreale, who competed for the University of Notre Dame and previously coached the nationally renowned swim team at Peddie School. “From our seasoned swimmers to those who never competed before, every member of the team progressed and contributed to our success this year, and we will undoubtedly climb the ranks of New Jersey high school swimming in the years to come.”
In addition to Gmelich and Wolf, who both swim year-round for CJAC; Scott, who competes for NJRC; and Marcin, who swims for the Monmouth Barracudas, the Trinity Hall team includes MacKenzie Knox, who swims for the club team FOBY, and novice swimmers Lizzy Castellano, Kali Ann Magnusson, Grace Modderman and Jasmine Sanchez.
With the addition of a new freshmen class next year at Trinity Hall, the team will welcome at least two new accomplished club swimmers to continue building a team that is expected to vie for conference, county, and state titles in the near future.
Trinity Hall is an independent all-girls college preparatory high school, educating and empowering young women in the Catholic tradition.
Additional information about Trinity Hall is available by visiting www.trinityhallnj.org.