The Prep is, simply put, a swimming powerhouse in New Jersey. Just two years ago, we won the state championship when several of our best swimmers were sophomores. Now seniors, they led our team to an impressive finish in this year’s season. And just this weekend, they took even more victories in an impressive culmination of our swimmers’ success.
In the final day of the 2023-24 swimming season, the Pirates flocked to Gloucester Tech to the NJSIAA Meet of Champions. The Prep swept the three relays. Four school records were broken as well. In the 200-Medley Relay, the Pirates garnered a 1:32.03 with Karl Burghardt, Aryan Kapoor, Richard Poplawski, and Cormac Rouse. With the 100-Butterfly, Richard Poplawski earned a wicked fast 48.16. Richard Poplawski, Karl Burghardt, Aryan Kapoor, and Cormac Rouse raced a 1:24.88 in the 200-freestyle relay. Rounding it out, in the 400-freestyle relay, Cormac Rouse, Owen Ripley, Aryan Kapoor, and Richard Poplawski earned a 3:04.31.
I spoke with Richard Poplawski, a friend of mine for the past four years and future swimmer at Harvard University, about this past weekend’s races. Richard went into the swim meet knowing that the team had a lot of potential. If everyone did their part, the Pirates would break some relay records. In his individual event, Richard expected to break his record because he felt confident going into the meet and ready to shoot for his best time. Going into the meet, Richard pointed out that the team knew they could win at least two of the relays. But winning all of them was unexpected. For Poplawski, winning all the relays by a wide margin was an incredible feat, and a testament to the amazing and accomplished group of swimmers.
Throughout the week leading up to the Meet of Champions, the swimmers rested and made sure they were feeling healthy, both in and out of the water. Richard claims that the group trained hard, but recovered even harder with the right diet, sleep schedule, and limited exhaustion at practices. As he travels to Cambridge next fall to swim for Harvard, Richard mentioned that this was a great experience that he will never forget. He had numerous, bright high school swimming achievements, and certainly an accomplished career, so it will be easy for Richard to transition to his college career.
The future is looking bright not just for Richard, but also for the The Prep’s swim team. We will undoubtedly be on the lookout for more records from both.