At the girls’ swimming meet on December 4, 2024 between River Dell High School and Fair Lawn High School, RD secured a decisive win of 106 – 64, dominating in most events with strong individual and team performances.
Junior Michelle Hwang took first place in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:08:78, narrowly beating second place.
The team excelled in the 400-meter freestyle relay, with senior co-captain Noa Kizhnerman, junior Kate Churchill, Hwang, and senior Ava Perrino racing into first place a full sixteen seconds ahead of Fair Lawn.
Kizhnerman placed first in 100-meter fly and along with sophomore Maeve Pospischil, senior co-captain Estafania Perez, and sophomore Zoe Talluri, placed second place in the 200-meter Medley Relay behind Fair Lawn.
Starting the season on a high note, senior swimmers were asked their thoughts about their final year of being part of River Dell’s girl’s swimming team. Jiwon Jeong, who placed third in the 200-meter freestyle relay against Fairlawn, shared her favorite moment as a long-time member of the team being “… when everyone cheers for our team. I love doing the chants before and after the meetings. Also, when I am doing breaststrokes, I can hear the people cheering for me as I am coming up and down into the water. It motivates me to do my best.”
Kizhnerman, when asked about a specific moment that stood out to her during her four years on the team, replied that a notable moment was “… at our last league meet last year. The scoring was tricky because we were close to a tie with the other team, so the scorers took around an extra twenty to thirty minutes calculating the results. During that time, we were all waiting, and someone started playing music on a speaker. When ‘traitor’ by Olivia Rodrigo started playing, suddenly everyone was singing along – we were shouting the lyrics across the pool to each other and the other team. It was a beautiful moment because instead of being reduced to opposing teams, we were all girls bonded by music and swimming”.
The camaraderie and dedication that the swimmers share across their teammates and other schools makes this season one to watch. The next meet is on December 21st against Pascack Valley High School, come and support the team!
