On Monday, Jan. 15th, senior captains Carly Frank, Ellen Last, and Lily Miklaszewski led the Montclair Girls Swimming Team to a narrow 292-267 victory in the Essex County tournament over 2nd place Newark Academy to claim their 4th consecutive county title!
Montclair was facing off against a familiar foe in Newark Academy (NA), and as per usual, the girls stepped up to the challenge and walked away with the W. In reference to Montclair’s rivalry with NA, Carly Frank said, “Newark Academy has been our best competition in my high school years. They always fight hard and swim well, so we knew it would be a close meet. It’s all love with them,” (NJ.com). Montclair has a very well-rounded team, but senior Carly Frank had filled the shoes of star Army freshman Ela Habjan very well and the team hasn’t lost a step from last year.
Both teams traded wins the entire meet, and the meet came down to the final race, the 400 freestyle relay. However, Montclair’s Reagan Gilligan, Lily Miklaszewski, Avery Dollard, and Carly Frank grabbed the win in the final event with ease with a time of 3:40.72. According to Coach Koenigfest, “We had to win that relay. It’s always competitive with that program. Coach Billy [Blohm] and I are really, really good friends, so it’s always fun to compete against someone you’re close with. It was a great meet overall,” (NJ.com). Captain Carly Frank anchored the race and dove in with the lead and did more than enough to maintain it and secure the victory, and county championship. When asked about the event, Frank said “The three girls ahead of me did an awesome job to give me a lead before my final swim. I’m excited with how well we finished off the day, and how well us seniors capped our career,” (NJ.com).
Prior to that event, Frank had also produced a first-place finish in two events; the 100 freestyle at 53.62 and the 100 backstroke at 1:00.23. Additionally, “She helped the Mounties to a second-place nod in the 200 medley at (1:50.66) with Reagan Gilligan, Dollard, and Miklaszewski,” (NJ.com). In the aforementioned 100 free, Frank narrowly beat NA’s Laura Kim by a mere 0.36 seconds. In the 100 back, she bested Newark Academy’s Claire Wong by 1.44 seconds.
One of Montclair’s other senior captains, Lily Miklaszewski, also had a very strong meet, as she placed first in the 50 freestyle for Montclair, timing out at 25.02. She also went for third place in the 100 free at 55.34. In reference to Miklaszewski, Coach K said “Lily was unbelievable. Getting us the win in the 50 free was huge. She is fantastic and I could not be happier for her,” (NJ.com).
Despite Frank’s dominant performance, junior Reagan Gilligan was named the Cullen Jones Award winner as the most outstanding swimmer. She cranked out the victory in the 200 free (1:57.28) and 500 free (5:12.21), and these times were significant drops compared to her usual clips. In regards to the preparation for the meet Gilligan said, “We wanted to win so badly today. We had a great team-bonding session yesterday to prepare for this meet and talk about all the great times we’ve had. It was an awesome team environment that we carried into today,” (NJ.com). This quote perfectly encapsulates the positive, loving, and tight-knit nature of the Montclair team. They are a great representation of how high school sports teams should be, and they are a great example for the rest of Montclair’s teams.

Not only did the girls have a strong meet, but the 3-2 boys team also impressed as they grabbed a 5th-place finish. They were led by senior captains Eli Muldoon and Sam Safirstein. Muldoon and Safirstein are the only seniors on this young team, so they are expected to build on their strong season thus far going forward and into next year.

Congratulations to both teams!!