A historic season for a deep and talented Ocean City High School girls swimming team ended Sunday with a loss in the state Public B championship meet against an even more powerful team from Chatham High School.
The Red Raiders fell, 99-71, in the state title meet at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Ocean City went into the meet unbeaten and ends the season at 14-1. Chatham, 16-0, won its fourth consecutive state title.
Ocean City won its first South Jersey title two weeks ago and defeated Princeton in the state semifinals last week.
Ocean City senior Noel Styer won the 50-yard (23.77 seconds) and 100-yard freestyle (53.48 seconds) sprints for Ocean City. She tied her own school record in the 50.
Ocean City freshman Amanda Nunan won the distance freestyle events (200 yards and 500 yards). Nunan shattered her own school record in the 500 with a 4:50.66.
The 200-meter freestyle relay team of Aly Chain, Gabby Breazeale, Nunan and Styer gave Ocean City its fifth victory in the meet's 11 events. But Chatham's depth kept the meet out of reach for Ocean City.
Returning a solid core of underclassmen to competition next year and anticipating the arrival of some talented eighth-graders, the Red Raiders should be poised for another run at a title next year.
