Bernards High School Swim Team
Home Page Last revised: March 10, 2009.

Team News & Announcements

• 2008-2009 is the 21st season for BHS Swim Team (70-71-1 Co-Ed Team, 31-23 Boys Team, 72-29-2 Girls Team)

• Girls team named to the NISCA 2004 Academic Team Scholar "Silver" list (the girls were named to the NISCA 2003 Academic Team Scholar "Gold" list)

• Boys are named Skyland Conference - Raritan Division Champions for 2009

• Girls finished tied for 8th at the 2009 Skyland Conference meet; Boys finished 6th

• Girls finished 7th at the 2009 Somerset County meet; Boys finished 6th

• Boys are semi-finalists in the 2009 North II, Division B State Playoffs

• Mary deMarrais and Mitch Colby make All-State at 2009 Meet of Champions!

• Fifth season with both boys and girls teams

Mary deMarrais and Mitch Colby Achieve All-State Status at Meet of Champions
Mary Breaks School Record in 500 Free

Mary deMarrais and Mitch Colby both finished in the Top 16 to earn All-State honors at the New Jersey Meet of Champions at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology on March 7 and 8.  Mary swam to a personal best in the preliminary heats of the 200 with a 1:54.05, and improved her BHS Top 5 placing to the #2 spot, second by less than a second to sister Kelly's 1:53.08.  Mary then obliterated Kelly's school record of 5:04.78 with a 5:00.40 in the 500.  In the finals, Mary finished in 6th place in the 200 and 4th place in the 500, which were Mary's 6th and 7th All-State titles in her high school career.

In Mitch's second appearance at the Meet of Champions, he tied his own personal best time in the preliminary heats with a 4:49.14, which was good enough to make the finals.  He then lowered his time (and his #2 BHS Top 5 time) to a 4:49.07 for a 6th place finish.

Bernards Boys are Named Raritan Division Skyland Conference Champions!

The Bernards boys team have been named the Raritan Division Skyland Conference Champions by having an undefeated dual meet record against the conference teams in their division.  Those teams are Belvidere, Franklin, North Hunterdon, Phillipsburg, Ridge, Somerville, Voorhees, and Warren Hills.  Bernards was also named Raritan Division Skyland Conference champs in 2007.

Bernards Gives Top Seeded Chatham a Good Fight in Semi-Finals

Bernards fought hard to the finish as they bowed out 74-96 in the semi-final round of the North II Group B state playoffs on February 17 at the Morris Union Jointure pool.  Bernards, seeded 4th, entered the meet as 800 power point underdogs to the top seeded Chatham, but swam the strongest meet of their season to post times that earned them over 3000 power points - a 300 point improvement over their regular season performances.  This is the highest finish ever for the boys team, as well as the best win-loss record at 11-1.

Mitch Colby continued to dominate his competition as he led a 1-2 finish in the 200 free with Justin Meyers, easily won the 500 by 10 seconds, and anchored the victorious 400 free relay behind Justin Meyers, John Lawson, and Sebastien Sicard.  Justin's 200 free (1:53.35) moved him up to fourth on the BHS all-time Top 5 list, and he also led another 1-2 finish for Bernards in the 100 free (51.72) with Robert Crane (53.70).  Bernards stayed in the game throughout the meet with many other critical second through fifth place finishes.  John (50 and back) and Sebastien (fly) each grabbed second places while Jose (IM and breast) and Robert (50) each took third place.  Finishing in 4th place were Thomas Kostelak (IM and breast) and Chris Banks (500), while Josh Kostelak (back), Keith Lafuente (fly), Sebastien (200), Chris (IM), and Reid Orza (breast) all posted point-scoring fifth place swims.

Bernards Proceeds to Semi-Final Round in State Playoffs with Win Over Caldwell

The 4th seeded Bernards boys handed 5th seeded Caldwell a 116-54 loss in the quarterfinal round of the North II Group B state playoffs on February 12 at the Somerset Hills YMCA.  Bernards finished either 1-2 or 1-3 in every event except the IM, where they finished 1-4.  Bernards took charge from the first event as Mitch Colby, Jose Agnese, Sebastien Sicard, and John Lawson won the medley relay and Josh Kostelak, Tom Kostelak, Keith Lafuente, and Matt Sisto finished 1-3.  Then Mitch, Justin Meyers, and Chris Banks finished 1-2-3 in the 200 free to jump to a 23-7 lead.  Jose muscled his way to an exciting 0.12 second lead to win the IM and John and Robert Crane's 1-2 punch in the 50 made it 44-18 by the break.  After the break, Sebastien won the fly, Justin the 100 free, Mitch the 500, and John, Sebastien, Justin, and Robert took the 200 free relay with Thomas, Reid Orza, Brendan Cleary, and Matt Sisto coming in 2nd as well to bring Bernards to 85 - 1 point away from winning the meet.  The finishing touches were applied by John and Jose in winning the back and breast as Caldwell rested their fastest swimmers to give Bernards a good race in the closing relay.  Justin, Robert, Sebastien, and Mitch, each swimming their 4th event of the evening, gave it their all and touched out Caldwell 3:37.03 to 3:37.54 as they posted a new #4 all time swim for Bernards.

Bernards Splits Meet with Kinnelon as Boys Improve to 10-0
John Lawson Sets Team Record in 100 Back

The Bernards boys remained undefeated by beating Kinnelon 111-59, while the girls dropped to 7-3 with a 69-101 loss at the Somerset Hills YMCA on February 10.  The boys won all but three events as Mitch Colby (200 and 500 free) and John Lawson (50 free and back) each won both of their individual events.  John set a new team record in the back with a 57.36, breaking Ricky Barfuss' 12 year old record set in 1997.  John and Mitch each swam on a winning relay, as John teamed up with Jose Agnese, Sebastien Sicard and Robert Crane to take the medley relay (#2 on the BHS Top 5 list) and Mitch combined with  Justin Meyers, Sebastien, and Robert to win the 200 free relay.  Justin lowered his #5 Top 5 time in the 200 free and also won the 100 free while Jose captured the breaststroke event.  Bernards showcased their depth on the boys side by grabbing 7 second place swims as well.  Thomas Kostelak (IM and breast), Robert (50 and 100), Sebastien (fly), and Reid Orza, Thomas, Jose, and Matt Sisto in the 200 free relay, and Matt, Keith Lafuente, Josh Kostelak, and Chris Banks in the 400 free relay all scored important runner up points.  Brandon Gatzke, Joe Kubeck, Nick Patyk, and Arturo Turdekoos finished in third place in the closing relay.

The girls were led by Mary deMarrais, who won the fly and back, and also anchored the 400 free relay with a come-from-behind 54.55 leg to win the relay with Danielle Colby, Emily Coyle, and Julianna St.Onge.  Danielle posted the only other victory for Bernards with a win in the 500 free. Alexa Rubin (IM), Emily (50), Julianna (100), Sam Cembrook (breast), and the 200 free relay of  Mary, Sam, Yvette Gong, and Julianna all swam to second place finishes.

The Bernards Boys are Seeded 4th in the State Playoffs

The Bernards boys earned a 4th seed in the North II, Group B state playoffs.  Bernards will face 5th seeded Caldwell in the quarterfinals on Thursday, February 12 at the Somerset Hills YMCA (7:30pm meet start).  The winner of that meet will face the #1 seed Chatham.

Boys Dominate; Girls Sneak by Voorhees

The Bernards girls, swam with guts and determination to make up a 2 point deficit going in to the last relay to sneak past Skyland Conference foe, Voorhees - 87-83, at Raritan Valley Community College on February 9.  The opening medley relay set the tone for the meet as Bernards (Emily Coyle, Mary deMarrais, Julianna St.Onge, and Danielle Colby) and Voorhees swam to a dead heat.  The 50 and 100 free were each determined by less than a tenth of a second as Emily touched first in the 50 and Julianna got outtouched in the 100.  Behind the first place swims of Mary in the IM and fly, Bernards built up a lead as high as 10 points, but Voorhees reversed the momentum with a 1-3 finish in the 200 free relay.  Sam Cembrook, Angela Agnese, and Yvette Gong finished 2-3-5 to keep Bernards within striking distance on the 400 free relay.  Bernards needed to win the relay to tie the meet, and at least a 1-3 finish to win the meet.  Danielle, Julianna, Emily, and Mary easily won the relay, while Colette Rosenhaus, Alexa Rubin, Alex Crane, and Jacqueline Cembrook managed a third place to put Bernards on top by 4 points.  Danielle also won the 500 free, but Bernards was kept in the game by several outstanding runner up swims.  Danielle, Jacqueline, and Julianna finished 2-3-4 in the 200, Alexa and Alex went 3-4 in the IM, and Colette and Meredith Miller went 3-5 in the 500.  The girls are now 7-2 for the season.

The boys completely dominated the meet with a score of 123-47 and finishing 1-2 or 1-3 in every event except the 100 free.  Mitch Colby won the 200 and the 500, Thomas Kostelak the IM, Robert Crane the 50, Sebastien Sicard the fly, Justin Meyers the back, and Jose Agnese the breast.  Brandon Gatzke finished with a third (500) and a fourth (200), while Nick Patyk anchored the winning medley relay (with John Lawson, Jose, and Sebastien).  The 400 free relay was won by Justin, Robert, Will Sisto, and Reid Orza. Other important second place finishes were posted by Chris Banks (IM), Keith Lafuente (500), and Josh Kostelak (back).  The boys extended their record to 9-0.

Girls Finish Tied for 8th Place at Skyland Conference Championships
Boys Finish in 6th Place at Skyland Conference Championships

The Bernards girls tied Watchung for an 8th place finish, out of 16 teams, at the Skyland Conference Championships at Montgomery High School on February 6.  Mary deMarrais posted two 3rd place finishes in the 200 and 500 free and also swam on the 7th place medley relay with Emily Coyle, Julianna St.Onge, and Yvette Gong.  The 200 free relay of Jacqueline Cembrook, Alex Crane, Yvette, and Sam Cembrook also scored points by finishing in the top 12.  Personal bests were posted by Angela Agnese (breast), Jacqueline (200 free), and Julianna (100 free).

The Bernards boys finished in 6th place, out of 15 teams, at the Skyland Conference Championships at Montgomery High School on February 5.  Mitch Colby had the top finish for Bernards with a 3rd in the 500 free.  Mitch also placed 7th in the 200 and anchored the 4th place 400 free relay, swimming behind John Lawson, Justin Meyers, and Robert Crane.  This relay improved their #3 all-time Top 5 time to 3:31.65.  Mitch also swam on the 6th place 200 free relay with Justin, Matt Sisto, and Sebastien Sicard.  Justin scored points with a 5th place in the 100 and an 8th in the 200 (with a new best time, improving his #5 Top 5 time to 1:55.36). John also improved on his own #4 Top 5 swim with a very fast 57.01 in the fly, as he finished in 7th place.  John led off the 6th place medley relay, swimming with Jose Agnese, Sebastien, and Robert.    Other point scorers for Bernards were Sebastien (8th in the fly), Robert (tied for 8th in the 50), and Jose (12th in the breast).  Personal bests were also posted by Chris Banks (IM), Reid Orza (IM and breast), and Thomas Kostelak (breast).

Boys Extend Undefeated Streak to 8
Girls Improve to 6-2 With Win Over North Hunterdon

The Bernards girls, with a slightly depleted bench due to illness, put forth several gutsy swims to sneak past North Hunterdon 88-82 on January 29 at the Somerset Hills YMCA.  North jumped out to a surprising 8 point lead by winning three of the first four events when Mary deMarrais, Alex Crane, and Meredith Miller went 1-4-5 in the 100 fly and Emily Coyle, Julianna St. Onge, and Jacqueline Cembrook swept the 100 free to grab the lead, which Bernards never relinquished.  Danielle Colby took the 500 and Sam Cembrook, Yvette Gong, Julianna, and Mary beat North's best 200 free relay.  Bernards closed out the meet with Emily, Alexa Rubin, and Patty Howell grabbing 1-4-5 in  the back, Sam, Angela Agnese, and Yvette finishing 2-4-5 in the breast, and the 400 free relay of Danielle, Emily, Julianna, and Jacqueline clinching the meet.

The boys continued their winning ways with a 116-54 victory as Bernards won every event except the final relay.  Bernards finished either 1-2 or 1-3 in 9 events.  Mitch Colby posted two individual wins (IM, back), while John Lawson (fly), Justin Meyers (100), and Robert Crane (50) each had one individual win and swam on two first place relays.  Jose Agnese, who also won the breast in a new Top 5 (#4) time of 1:06.12, joined them on the medley relay and Nick Patyk finished off their 200 free relay.  Chris Banks touched first in the 200 and Thomas Kostelak grabbed the 500.  Mitch, Thomas, and Reid Orza swept the IM and Jose, Justin, and Reid swept the breast.

Mary deMarrais is County Champ in the 500 Free
Bernards Girls Finish in 7th Place at Somerset County Championship Meet

Mary deMarrais repeated as Somerset County championship in the 500 free with a winning time of 5:08.69 as Bernards finished in 7th place at Montgomery High School on January 23, 2009.  Mary was also the runner up in the 200 free, as she lowered her BHS Top 5 (#3) time to 1:56.66.  Mary also swam with Danielle Colby, Emily Coyle, and Julianna St. Onge on the 6th place medley relay and the 7th place 400 free relay.  Additional points were scored by Jacqueline and Sam Cembrook, Alex Crane, and Yvette Gong as their 200 free relay finished in 9th place.

Bernards finished in 7th place behind Mt. St. Mary, Bridgewater, Montgomery, Pingry, Ridge and Hillsborough.

Bernards will swim against Belvidere on January 27 and North Hunterdon on January 29 at the Somerset Hills YMCA (7:25pm)

Mitch Colby is County Champ in the 500 Free
Bernards Boys Finish in 6th Place at Somerset County Championship Meet

Mitch Colby lowered his Bernards Top 5 time to within 7 seconds of Scott Armstrong's school record when he captured the Somerset County championship for the 500 free in 4:49.14 at Montgomery High School on January 22, 2009.  Mitch also placed 5th in the 200 free with a 1:51.07, also improving on his Top 5 time. Mitch also swam on the 200 free relay with Justin Meyers, John Lawson, and Robert Crane, which finished in 5th place, and just missed the number 2 Top 5 spot.  To finish his scoring, Mitch anchored the 400 free relay with the same foursome, for a 6th place finish, and another Top 5 time.

John added a 9th place in the 100 free and a 10th in the backstroke while Justin posted two 10th place finishes in the 100 and 200 free.  Justin's 200 free made it on to the Top 5 list with a 1:55.91.  Robert swam a very strong 50 free that was good enough for 9th place.  The 200 medley relay of Josh Kostelak, Jose Agnese, Keith Lafuente, and Matt Sisto completed the scoring for Bernards with an 8th place finish.

Bernards finished in 6th place, as they did last year, behind Bridgewater, Hillsborough, Pingry, Montgomery, and Ridge.

Bernards Breaks 4 School Records at the Cougar Relay Invitational!

The Bernards swim team opened their competitive season with a splash at Montgomery High School's Cougar Relay Invitational on December 5, 2008.  The boys crushed the 200 medley relay record as John Lawson, Jose Agnese, Sebastien Sicard and Mitch Colby swam a very fast 1:46.93, breaking last year's record of 1:47.90 (John, Jose, Brendan McCrossan, Mitch) by almost a full second.  In the "unofficial" relays, three records were brought down - the boys 200 back foursome of Andrew Dragunas, Mitch Colby, Josh Kostelak, and John Lawson set a new standard of 1:52.75; and two co-ed relay records were lowered as John Lawson, Julianna St. Onge, Mary deMarrais and Sebastien Sicard swam the fastest 200 fly relay in school history (1:51.51) and Emily Coyle, Jose Agnese, Mary deMarrais, and Mitch Colby broke the 400 medley relay record (4:14.00).  Many surprisingly fast times were posted by the entire team as nearly the entire roster competed in at least one relay!

2007-2008 Highlights
Mary deMarrais Finals in Top 8 at Meet of Champions

Mary deMarrais, Jamie Hepburn, and Mitch Colby qualified for the very competitive Meet of Champions held at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology on March 1 and 2.  Mary finished in the top 8 in both events, bettering her own BHS Top 5 times in the process.  Mary swam a 2:10.98 in the 200 IM and a 5:07.06 in the 500 which placed her 7th and 4th respectively going in to the finals.  She dropped her IM time 0.2 seconds in the finals and finished in her seeded slots (7th and 4th) for both events.  Mary has the second fastest Bernards swim in the IM and the third fastest 500 - only .03 seconds behind Lesley Barnet's time from 1999.  These were Mary's 4th and 5th All-State (Top 16) performances.   Jamie Hepburn and Mitch Colby swam well, finishing 30th and 23rd in New Jersey (all-Groups, all-Sections) in the 500 free.

Bernards Girls Swim to 5th Place; Boys to 6th at Skyland Conference Championships
deMarrais and Colby Conference Champs in the 500 Free

The Bernards girls finished in 5th place in a field of 16 schools at the Skyland Conference Championships on January 30, just ahead of Hunterdon Central and Ridge.  Bernards trailed Hunterdon Central and Ridge until Mary deMarrais and Jamie Hepburn finished first and third in the 500 free.  While that ended the individual scoring for Bernards, Jamie, Mary, and Julie Farrell teamed up with Emily Coyle in the 200 free relay and Jenna Meyers in the 400 free relay to finish one place ahead of Hunterdon Central in each of the events to secure fifth place overall.  Mary also placed second in the IM while Jamie finished in 8th place in the 200 free.  Bernards also received points from a 12th place finish in the 200 medley relay by Emily, Sam Cembrook, Ali Gatzke, and Jenna Meyers.

The boys swam to an impressive 6th place swim against 14 other schools as 4 boys contributed to the individual scoring.  Frosh Mitch Colby won the 500 free, breaking the 5 minute barrier and qualifying for the 2008 Meet of Champions with a 4:57.43.  Mitch swam to victory in the penultimate heat, which he won by 14 seconds!  The final heat, could not match Mitch's final time, even though top seeded Jared Lang from Hunterdon Central swam almost identical splits through the first 450 yards.  Mitch closed the race with a very fast 28.72, while Jared finished with a 29.78 to finish .5 seconds behind Mitch's new BHS #2 Top 5 time.  Mitch is the first Conference Champion since Dorian Delamare won the 200 IM and 100 fly in the Colonial Hills Conference Championship meet in 2001.  Mitch also placed 5th in the 200 free.  John Lawson scored in both the 100 fly (9th) and the 100 back (11th) with both swims in the BHS Top 5 listing.  Sebastien Sicard (10th) and Justin Meyers (12th) both added points in the 200 free.  All three relays medaled as the 200 medley relay of John, Jose Agnese, Brendan McCrossan, and Mitch placed 6th and lowered their own BHS Top 5 time to within .25 seconds of the school record.  The two free relays placed 5th with Brendan, Justin, Robert Crane, and Sebastien in the 200 and John, Sebastien, Justin, and Mitch in the 400.

The entire girls' and boys' conference crowd was treated to a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner sung by Bernards' own Patty Howell!  Patty was invited to open the Cougar Invitational meet on February 8.

deMarrais Leads Bernards to 6th Place at Somerset County Championships
Boys Also Finish in 6th Place

The Bernards girls finished in 6th place at the Somerset County Championships on Friday, January 25, beating 6 schools including Ridge and Watchung Hills.  The team was led by Mary deMarrais who won the 500 free in a BHS #3 time of 5:10.55 and finished second in the IM with a time (2:11.09) that is second only to Alexis Skoda's school record 2:07.18 from 2001.  Jamie Hepburn was tenth in the 200 free and seventh in the 500 free. Mary and Jamie also scored points on two sixth place free relays with Julie Farrell, Emily Coyle (200), and Jenna Meyers (400).  The medley relay of Danielle Colby, Samantha Cembrook, Ali Gatzke and Emily Coyle finished in 8th place.

On Saturday, January 26, the Bernards boys also finished in 6th place behind Bridgewater, Pingry, Hillsborough, Montgomery, and Ridge.  Frosh Mitch Colby and co-captain Sebastien Sicard scored in both of their individual events, as Mitch finished 11th in the 200 and 7th in the 500, improving his #2 BHS top 5 time to 5:05.85.  Sebastien finished in 12th in both the 200 free and the fly, and also improved on his #5 top 5 time in the 200 free with a 1:56.27.  Justin Meyers completed the individual scoring with a 12th place swim in the 100 free.  The 200 medley relay squad of John Lawson, Jose Agnese, Brendan McCrossan and Mitch placed 6th and lowered their own #3 top 5 time to 1:48.95, which ties the #2 time.  Both free relays finished 5th as the 200 free relay team included Brendan, Justin, Robert Crane, and Sebastien and the 400 free relay was swum by John, Sebastien, Justin, and Mitch.

Bernards Swim Team to Work With Special Olympics Athletes

The Bernards swim team will be working with the local Special Olympics swim team at the Somerset Hills YMCA throughout the season.  The Bernards swimmers will assist in coaching the swim team, helping them with their stroke technique and participating in fun, yet competitive relay races.  This will be a great opportunity for the Bernards swimmers to serve their community while sharing their talents with a great group of local athletes.

2006-2007 Highlights
Bernards Boys Named Skyland Conference Raritan Division Champions

The Skyland Conference is made up of two divisions - the Delaware and the Raritan.  The members of the Raritan Division are Bernards, Franklin, North Hunterdon, Phillipsburg, Ridge, Somerville, Voorhees (girls team only), and Warren Hills.  The Bernards boys were undefeated in dual meets against all teams in the Raritan Division, so they have been named Conference champions of this division.