Congratulations to senior Carly Frank on being selected as Montclair Sports Network’s Athlete of the Year for the Montclair High School Girls Swim team! Although this was her best season on record, as she finished first in 88% of her races this season compared to 75% last year, this was far from a breakout season for Frank. She had already established herself as one of the best swimmers in the state at the conclusion of her junior year, and if not for her swimming behind now Army freshman Ela Habjan, she would have been the best swimmer on one of the most dominant teams in the state for the entirety of her MHS career.
Through her four years of swimming for MHS, Carly Frank competed in virtually every event, from backstroke to breaststroke, and was the team’s anchor in relays of multiple lengths. Her efforts in her freshman year contributed to a fantastic season, with the team ending with a record of 11-0. This clean sweep was followed by a record of 9-1 in her sophomore year, and a record of 11-1 her junior year.
Frank started her senior year strong, with three first place finishes and one second place finish in Montclair’s away meet versus rivals MKA. She competed in the 400m freestyle relay (FR), 200m medley relay (MR), 200m individual medley (IM), and 100m freestyle. In the second meet of the season, facing Newark Academy, she finished second place in the 100m breast with a time of 1:11.26, second place in the 200m fly with 1:00.66, second place in the 200m medley relay and finally first place in the 400m freestyle relay. In her third meet, she finished with two first place and two second place finishes, and she added another two wins to her season total in her fourth meet. In the fifth meet of the season versus Livingston, Frank won the 100m fly, the 200m IM, and the 200m MR. Continuing her dominant performance, she won every single event she competed in when the team faced Columbia. Frank recorded yet another clean sweep when she tallied four wins during a meet against Millburn. At Caldwell, she won the 100m backstroke, 200m FR, 400m FR, and the 50m freestyle. In the team’s only loss of the season, Frank still finished with a win in the 400m FR, and second places in the 200m MR, 100m fly, and the 100m backstroke against Passaic Tech, who continued on to a loss in the finals versus Ridgewood.
Carly Frank’s spectacular season made her MSN’s MHS Girls Swim Athlete of the Year. She never finished lower than second place in an event all year, and she also recorded 24 wins in her final season. Congratulations to Carly Frank, and good luck to her with the next four years of her swimming career at William & Mary!