Gen Wall believes that this may be best collection of talent she’s ever had during her tenure as Passaic Tech’s girls head coach.
With the display of depth and speed that the Bulldogs showed today, there’s no doubt that Passaic Tech in the midst of a special season.
Powered by eight race wins and several top three finishes, Passaic Tech, ranked No. 11 in NJ.com’s Top 20, posted 466 points to secure their seventh straight Passaic County title on Saturday.
It’s one of the longest-running county championship streaks in the state, only trailing Immaculate Heart (25) and Chatham (15), who will look to extend its streaks in the coming days.
“The girls are just work horses,” Wall said. “Every single one of them. They want to work hard, they want to do their best, they want to cheer for each other, and they don’t go into any meet thinking, ‘oh like, I just won’t try today, or we don’t need to PR, we don’t need the PowerPoints.”
“The depth of the team is is crazy this year, which I’m really excited for,” Wall added. “I think this is going to be a huge year for us, like the best chance we’ve had for a state sectional title.”
Passaic Tech has had small senior classes for the last few seasons now, with only five seniors on the roster for 2024-25. They’ve had to bank on almost exclusively their juniors and underclassman to score in both the inside and outside lanes.
They did that better then they could’ve ever imagined on Saturday.
Leah Ciabattoni was one of the team’s biggest scorers, cutting 10 seconds her off her seed time to win the 500 free (5:28.61), then later capturing the 100 back (1:02.77). Both marks were personal records for the junior, who considered this to be a bounce back meet after dealing with pneumonia during last year’s county meet.
Remarkably, that was only the second time Ciabttoni had swam the backstroke in a high school meet
“I felt like coming back this year and improving by so much, even dropping times from like my personal best from club (swimming) was just really exciting for me, and I think for my team as well,” Ciabattoni said.”
After finishing second at counties last year, Julia Lo swam 59.03 to claim the county title in the 200 IM, going 1-2-3 with sophomore Gabriela Becerra and freshman Soraya Parker. Lo followed that up with a narrow win in the 100 fly, fighting off a strong challenge from Passaic’s Gabriela Becerra.
In the 100 free, Passaic Tech also earned a 1-2 finish with Charlize Macaranas (55.02) and Danna Tapia (57.57).
Coach Wall was especially proud of how well her relays performed, as Passaic Tech claimed all three on Saturday, most notably earning a 1-2 finish in the 400 freestyle relay. Lo, Tapia, Macaranas and Maya McCracken were apart of the winning relay that bested their seed by over 13 seconds (3:48.11),
“We knew that we had to face (Wayne Valley’s) Sarah Rodriguez in all three relays, and I knew that was gonna be tough in that 400 free relay. Fending her off with our A and B relays was a huge moment for our team.”
Other Individual Standouts
Passaic is still a developing program that is making strides towards becoming more competitive within the county, but one major bright spot has been the rise of Zariah Townsend.
The junior became the first Passaic girls swimmer to win a county title since at least 2016 when she reset the meet record in the breaststroke (1:07:17). That time also surpasses the Meet of Champions qualifying mark for the event.
“I felt very hyped up to do the 100 breastroke today, but I wasn’t expecting to break the meet record today,” Townsend said. “I know I’ve been working really hard, and I haven’t been (hitting) my best times lately, but today, since I actually went my best time, I’m very happy and proud of myself.”
For the second straight season, Wayne Hills secured an individual county champion, as freshman Parker Gentile won the 200 free in 2:01.33.
Team Scores
| Passaic County Championships (Team Scores) | |
|---|---|
| 1-Passaic Tech, 408 | |
| 2-Wayne Hills 213 | |
| 3-Wayne Valley, 198 | |
| 4-Lakeland/West Milford, 155 | |
| 5-Clifton, 57 | |
| 6-Passaic, 54 | |
| 7-Mary Help of Christians, 30 |
Results
*indicates meet record
200 Medley Relay
- 1-Passaic Tech, 1:55.57
- 2-Wayne Valley, 1:59.40
- 3-Wayne Hills, 2:04.29
200 Freestyle
- 1-Parker Gentile, Wayne Hills, 2:01.33
- 2-Nadayln Castrillion, Passaic Tech, 2:07.91
- 3-Ashaly Dominguez, Passaic Tech, 2:06.68
200 IM
- Julia Lo, Passaic Tech, 2:17.37
- Gabriela Becerra, Passaic Tech, 2:27.06
- Soraya Parker, Passaic Tech, 2:28.98
50 Freestyle
- 1-Sarah Rodrigues, Wayne Valley, 23.45*
- 2-Danna Tapia, Passaic Tech, 26.32
- 3-Avery Derstine, Wayne Valley, 26.73
100 Fly
- 1-Julia Lo, Passaic Tech, 59.03
- 2-Zariah Townsend, Passaic, 59.78
- 3-Parker Gentile, Wayne Hills, 1:02.73
100 Freestyle
- 1-Charlize Macaranas, Passaic Tech, 55.02
- 2-Danna Tapia, Passaic Tech, 57.57
- 3-Nadalyn Castrillon, Passaic Tech, 57.78
500 Freestyle
- 1-Leah Ciabattoni, Passaic Tech, 5:28.61
- 2-Emily Kebrdle, Lakeland/West Milford, 5:45.10
- 3-Niara Castrillon, Passaic Tech, 5:56.97
200 Freestyle Relay
- 1-Passaic Tech, 1:44.79
- 2-Wayne Valley, 1:46.39
- 3-Passaic Tech, 1:53.67
100 Back
- 1-Leah Ciabattoni, Passaic Tech, 1:02.77
- 2-Rebecca Siuffe, Wayne Hills, 1:05.42
- 3-Naiara Castrillon, Passaic Tech, 1:08.31
100 Breast
- 1-Zariah Townsend, Passaic, 1:07.17*
- 2-Maya McCracken, Passaic Tech, 1:18.92
- 3-Soraya Parker, Passaic Tech, 1:15.42
400 Freestyle Relay
- 1-Passaic Tech, 3:48.11
- 2-Passaic Tech, 3:54.51
- 3-Wayne Valley, 3:57.13
Corey Annan can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him or send him a message on Twitter/X @coreyannan360.
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