“Those three seniors – Alec Reimon, Chris Lee and Edel Barcenas – have really just propelled this program to heights it hasn’t been at in a long time,” coach Steven Dunn said. “They’ve gotten better every year too, so it’s very impressive to watch them. They really deserve all this. It’s a special thing to win the league four years in a row. I’m just proud of my guys.”
Rutherford is one of North Jersey’s smallest schools with a swimming team and yet, the Bulldogs have developed into among the most consistent. They are 30-3 over the last four seasons and haven’t lost to an NJIC team in that time. The driving force behind that is Reimon, a talented 6-foot-3 star with college swimming in his future. Reimon owns seven of eight solo school records, only leaving the breaststroke held by older brother Andrew.
“He’s humble,” Barcenas said. “He doesn’t come here to show off. He doesn’t come to show that he’s the best. He just races. And he gets the job done.”
Reimon became a Bergen County champion last month when he ended a three-year title drought for NJIC swimmers by winning the 50 freestyle. He followed it up with a meet record in that event on Saturday and a first-place time in the backstroke. That gave Rutherford 134 points and a fairly comfortable victory over Leonia/Palisades Park (109) and Secaucus (96).
“This whole thing is a testament to my seniors,” Dunn said. “They’re going to be missed a lot. It was a pleasure watching them grow these four years and see kids blossom into what they are today. The last two times we took the water, we broke two school relay records. That was a big deal. Those four kids who swam those relays are pretty good.”
Secaucus was led by David and Matthew Son, who combined for three wins and two records. Sam Golovin was the 100 freestyle champion and kept his Lions in the hunt until the very end.
Rutherford, meanwhile, held a 15-point cushion entering the last race when its trusted team converged by the water. The Bulldogs’ relays have had minor tweaks over the years with highly-touted freshman Lucas Gomes leading off Saturday, but the core has stayed together. Lee went second, then Barcenas and Reimon completed the 10-second victory.
Once again, they finished what they started.
“We always have nice talks before and after,” Reimon said. “I’ll remember those moments, not really as much the actual swimming, just the memories we made together.”
-Story by Sean Farrel – Record Sports Department
