Wayne Valley swimmer nabs title
‘Best feeling ever’ for Texas commit Rodrigues earning state backstroke crown
SEWELL – Sarah Rodrigues stepped up to the blocks on Sunday with Eminem in her ear and one clear mandate in mind.
No more silver.
After finishing second three times at the state swimming Meet of Champions – including one in her first race on Sunday – the Wayne Valley junior could not make the two-hour trip back home with anything less than gold.
“Definitely this morning when I woke up, I was a little nervous,” Rodrigues said. “I was like, I really want to win. There’s nothing I wanted more than to win. I didn’t care what the time was on the board.”
That intensity carried the Texas commit to a breakthrough moment in the backstroke.
Rodrigues soared to the state title in 52.59 seconds and finished more than a second faster than any other finalist. Her winning time was only five-hundredths off the meet record she set in the pre-lims a day earlier.
The victory makes her the first girls swimmer from Bergen or Passaic County to win an individual state title since Wayne Valley’s Meaghan O’Donnell in 2014. Besides the history comes a nice view from the podium at Gloucester County Institute of Technology.
“It felt good to finally be on the highest step,” Rodrigues said. “That’s for sure. It felt like you were on top of the world. It was the best feeling ever to finally get first because every single year I get second, second, second.”
Most swimmers would be happy to take any spot on the state podium, but not the ultra-competitive Rodrigues. She came away wanting a little more after winning the backstroke pre-lims as a freshman and sophomore, only to wind up second behind Westfield’s Clare Logan in the championship race that mattered.
This year brought another rematch and another race with Rodrigues as the top seed. But this time, Logan was four lanes away after easing back in the qualifying heat.
“No, I couldn’t see her,” Rodrigues said. “She was really far away from me. It was just go, go, go from the beginning. I wasn’t trying to take a chance and finish second. I just went at it from the beginning and prayed that I was in the lead.”
If Rodrigues needed any extra motivation, it came about an hour earlier. In the 200 freestyle, she posted a school-record time (1:47.15) and wound up a close second behind Summit’s Sidney Arcella.
Being on the wrong end of a photo finish “lit a fire” under Rodrigues as she prepared for her signature event.
“I feel like this was her year to take it,” Wayne Valley coach Monica Voinov said.
“I think it’s her consistent training over time. She puts in the time. She’s looked a lot stronger to me. I’ve been watching her over the course of the season and I just had a really strong feeling heading into this race and looking at her times and where her competition stood and knowing the trajectory of her training.”
North Jersey wound up with four medalists on the girls side, not including IHA’s race to seventh in the 200 medley relay.
Leonia/Palisades Park’s Iris Kim earned a pair of high finishes, getting third in the 200 freestyle and second in the 500. In both races, Kim dropped time off her county meet records.
“It was really nice swimming with a lot of fast people,” Kim said. “I actually went a little slower than prelims, but I honestly just wanted to find a way to place.”
Bergen Catholic was the top dog in North Jersey boys swimming this year and the only local on the boys side Sunday.
Of the Crusaders’ three individual qualifiers, the best medal went to senior Doyee Kim who cut more than a second off his personal best in the breaststroke (54.91) on the way to second.
“I’m really happy with how everyone swam,” said Kim, who will swim for Army. “I think it’s an exciting meet with a lot of fast swimmers. I’m just happy to go a 54.”