Depth propels No. 12 CBA to thirty fifth straight Monmouth County swim championship

The Christian Brothers swim crew heard all of the chatter.

Holmdel was on the upswing with CBA on the downswing. A streak practically as outdated because the invention of the World Wide Web was in jeopardy.

Maybe, this may be the 12 months the Monmouth County Championships would change palms.

The Colts had been having none of that. No program that has received its county title 34 years in a row is with out a ton of pleasure.

The 2025-26 iteration of the CBA swim crew was not about to be the crew to see a streak that goes again all the way in which to the inception of this system finish.

There had been a few years the place it was solely a query of simply how a lot CBA would win by. With that not being the case this 12 months, the Colts needed to get the job carried out beneath much more strain.

“It’s not about ending the streak; it’s about how much you have with your team,” CBA junior Santiago Massone mentioned. “Everyone thinks CBA has gone downhill while Holmdel was doing up. That’s not how we roll. We bring the team together. That’s just swimming in general.”

CBA rose to the event in an enormous means, profitable its 35 straight Monmouth County title with 384 crew factors to 360.50 for Holmdel.

“We definitely had a lot of motivation,” sophomore Robbie Gibbons mentioned. “We had to really dig deep. Our ‘B’ and ‘C’ guys really scored most of our points. Our relays definitely carried. I’m just happy we won and we get to keep the streak.”

“They’re always motivated,” CBA head coach Matthew Nunnally mentioned. “This is my first year at CBA and I knew right from the start that this is something that is important to them. I think it showed today.”

The Hornets had the swimmers up prime to match the Colts. Holmdel outdid CBA with six first-place finishes to 4 and 12 prime three finishes to 10. Where CBA was capable of come out on prime was with its depth.

The Colts had seven finishers in particular person occasions place between fourth and tenth with 5 of these coming within the prime six. Holmdel had 5 swimmers place in that vary however solely two of them coming within the prime six.

Connor Bruce, Colin Drew and Rafael Villarina had been only a few key items of that spectacular depth.

“You can have your top guys as seniors, but it’s really about our depth,” Massone mentioned. “I wish to shout out our ‘B’ and ‘C” guys who finished in seventh or eighth. It’s not about what number of good folks you’ve; it’s about what number of strong folks you’ve. Personally, I believe grabbing the crew and ensuring it’s a crew effort is what it’s all about.”

Massone and Gibbons nonetheless supplied CBA with loads of firepower up prime. Massone received the 100 fly (49.46) and the 100 again (51.71) whereas Gibbons took dwelling the first-place trophies within the 50 free (22.10).

“It felt amazing to win,” Gibbons mentioned. “I had a lot of nerves coming up to that, so winning it and getting my first county championship was really surreal. It was an out-of-body experience.”

Jack Camilone supplied nice pleasure for CBA within the 200 free relay. Amazingly, all three relays ended up with Holmdel and CBA inside the identical second of one another. The Hornets out-touched the Colts in two of these, however Camilone bought the job carried out within the 200 free relay by making up some floor because the anchor on the ultimate leg.

“Being on the last leg is a lot of pressure,” Camilone mentioned. “It’s close. We have three other guys who put in all that work to make it so you’re able to bring it home and win. It’s a lot of pressure, but if you don’t let it get to you then you can bring it home for your team.”

This marks the primary county title for CBA beneath Nunnally. For the previous 10 years, Nunnally was the top males’s and girls’s swimming coach at Monmouth University. Before his time at Monmouth, Nunnally was the top males’s and girls’s coach at La Salle University, his alma mater, for 16 seasons.

“It’s just exciting to have the opportunity to work with these kids,” Nunnally mentioned. “They’re a great group of guys. They’re tight as a unit. I knew the tradition of CBA swimming, and I think the big thing for me was to come in and not mess it up. I needed to put these guys in a good position to go out and continue the streak. They did that today.”

Christopher Hall and Dylan Wan each had dominant days for Holmdel. Wan took dwelling the MVP trophy because the meet’s highest level earner.

He received the 200 IM in 1:55.47 and the five hundred free in 4:41.63. Meanwhile, Hall was victorious within the 100 free (47.81) and the 200 free (1:44.06).

With CBA and Holmdel being so shut in proximity, lots of the swimmers know one another exterior of the pool and contemplate it a pleasant rivalry.

“It was really about integrity,” Massone mentioned. “Once Holmdel won that 200 relay, we shook hands and congratulated them. It can be a meet in the pool, but it’s really about how you bond outside of it. A lot of these guys know each other from the Jersey Shore ‘Y’ and we’re like family. We just do this for fun. Holmdel is a very strong team and I think they will do very well in states.”

Red Bank Regional’s Ryan Bailey was the one swimmer not from both faculty to win an occasion with a time of 58.05 within the 100 breast.

200 Medley Relay

• 1-Holmdel, 1:37.36
• 2-CBA, 1:37.41
• 3-Red Bank Regional 1:40.91

200 Freestyle

• 1-Christopher Hall, Holmdel, 1:44.06
• 2-Brady Schlatter, Manasquan, 1:45.03
• 3-Matt Siliato, Ocean Township, 1:45.29

200 IM

• 1-Dylan Wan, Holmdel, 1:55.47
• 2-Matt Caraos, CBA, 1:58.57
• 3-Matthew Elsayegh, Holmdel, 2:01.54

50 Freestyle

• 1-Robbie Gibbons, CBA, 22:10
• 2-Emmanuel Xenakis, Holmdel, 22:14
• 3-Colin Zimmerer, Ocean Township, 22.17

100 Fly

• 1-Santiago Massone, CBA, 49.46
• 2-Emmanuel Xenakis, Holmdel, 51.71
• 3-Robbie Gibbons, CBA, 52.32

100 Freestyle

• 1-Christopher Hall, Holmdel, 47.81
• 2-Jack Camilone, CBA, 47.96
• 3-Rafael Villarina, CBA, 48.59

500 Freestyle

• 1-Dylan Wan, Holmdel, 4:41.63
• 2-Matt Siliato, Ocean Township, 4:45.21
• 3-Luke Finn, St. Rose, 4:45.21

200 Freestyle Relay

• 1-CBA, 1:29.04
• 2-Holmdel, 1:29.47
• 3-Manasquan, 1:36.93

100 Back

• 1-Santiago Massone, CBA, 51.71
• 2-Colin Zimmerer, Ocean Town ship, 53.62
• 3-Michael McLoughlin, Manasquan, 56.50

100 Breast

• 1-Ryan Bailey, Red Bank Regional, 58.05
• 2-Matthew Elsayegh, Holmdel, 59.59
• 3-Drew Sellinger, Holmdel, 1:00.15

400 Freestyle Relay

• 1-Holmdel, 3:14.01
• 2-CBA, 3:14.07
• 3-Ocean Township, 3:23.91