Though the Cougar boys swim team of Cherry Hill East came up short in the New Jersey Boys Public A state championship against Westfield High School on Sunday, Feb. 23, head coach Joe Cucinotti remains impressed by the resolve and determination of his team.
David Rowe and Duncan Brookover each won two individual events for East, which, in addition to the squad’s depth, helped power the Cougars to a 106–64 victory over Montgomery High School Feb. 18 in an NJSIAA Public A state semifinal at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. That gave the Cougars their first appearance in the state final since 2011.
“We have some good experience winning at the sectional level and we have some experience losing at the state level so the goal all along has been winning the state final,” Cucinotti said. “We know what it is like to end the season with a loss and a bad taste in our mouth and we were fed up with that.”
The Cougars were the top seed in the Public A South Tournament and captured their sixth consecutive sectional championship with a 95–75 win over No. 2 seed Lenape at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology on Feb. 12. Sectional titles are still an achievement for the team, just not the one it focuses on.
“Obviously, we’re excited to win a sectional title, and winning six of them consecutively is an impressive achievement for the program. It’s a goal for us before the season, just not the final goal,” Cucinotti said. “It’s not what you’ve done, it’s what you can do. And we believe we can win state titles.”
Cucinotti credited the team’s mentality as being the driving force behind the success it has seen this season.
“What I’ve noticed specifically from this team is they have a different type of intensity and focus,” Cucinotti said. “Even if they’re competing in events that may be different than they usually do, the expectation doesn’t change. They expect to outscore them and win the meet. And they know the kids they’re competing against from other schools. They know them from swimming in the offseason; they’re friends with them, but for those two or three minutes in the pool, they’re not friends. They are competitors.”
With how successful this and recent seasons have been, the cabinet remains stocked for the Cougars according to Cucinotti.
“The youth helps. It’s great to get new swimmers each year,” Cucinotti said. “We knew we had to do some revamping going into this season, which is funny. After last season, we thought we’d be really strong in 2015, so for it to come together this year has been great.
“But I know win or lose in the state final, our team’s mentality is going to be ‘wait til we come back next year.”
