Parsippany defeats Madison in historic swim meet

MADISON – Mohit Pathak had nothing but empathy as he looked across the Drew University pool deck at the small Madison boys swim team on Wednesday afternoon. The Dodgers looked a lot like his own Parsippany team had a couple of years ago.

The Red Hawks defeated Madison, 58-35, in a meet which resonated with both teams. The Dodgers boys dove back in for the first time in more than 15 years. Parsippany, meanwhile, earned its second victory of the season for the first time in at least a decade.

“We were like that two or three years ago,” said Pathak, a sophomore who was part of four Red Hawks victories on Wednesday. “I hope they convince more boys from their school to join the team. Last year, we made a lot of announcements. Not a lot of people knew there was a swim team.”

Parsippany coach Jemila Najjar-Keith had sent an e-mail to her swimmers, trying to emphasize the importance of the meet with Madison — particularly for the seniors, who had three one-win seasons. Pathak won the IM and butterfly, and was part of the medley and 400 free relays. Red Hawks junior Ryan Lo was first in the 50 free and breaststroke.

But the biggest cheers of the day were for the 200 free relay. Will Henderson gave Madison a lead on his opening lap, but Parsippany came from behind with about 10 yards to go on the third leg. Dodgers freshman Esteban Spadea caught up on his anchor turn, and battled stroke-for-stroke before touching the wall a heartbeat ahead.

“What really drove me was, (the Parsippany swimmer) was far ahead, and I wanted to try to pass him,” said Spadea, who didn’t realize he had won the race until he’d gotten out of the pool and updated by Madison assistant coach Lisa Moretti.

“It’s pretty exciting. At first, I was pretty nervous, but as I went in the water, I felt the adrenaline.”

For junior Matt Carey, diving in to swim the 200 free was the culmination of a three-year dream. A club swimmer who had represented Madison at the Morris County Championships twice, Carey had pestered athletic director Sean Dowling to relaunch the boys team this winter. The Dodgers are swimming a limited schedule in their debut season after more than 15 years out of the pool, including the U&ME Invitational and county meet.

Carey won the 200 free and backstroke on Wednesday. Sophomore Eric Burrer was Madison’s other first-place finisher in the 100 free, receiving an ovation from the girls swimmers — who also made each boy a blue-trimmed flag, which were taped to the windows at the pool.

“After three years, we finally got one,” Carey said. “It was a lot closer than I thought it was going to be. We did really, really well.”

Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@dailyrecord.com; www.dailyrecord.com/writerjane/

Parsippany 58, Madison 36: Medley relay: Parsippany (Ronald Tudorache, Mohit Pathak, Spencer Huang, Jason Caprioni); 200 freestyle: Matt Carey (M) 1:58.44; 200 IM: Pathak (P) 2:16; 50 freestyle: Ryan Lo (P) 24.89; 100 butterfly: Pathak (P) 1:03.47; 100 freestyle: Eric Burrer (M) 58.27; 500 freestyle: Jack Lips (P) 8:00; 200 free relay: Madison (Will Henderson, Tyler McKinnon, Max Haupt, Esteban Spadea) 1:54.4; 100 backstroke: Carey (P) 58.3; 100 breaststroke: Lo (P) 1:17.63; 400 free relay: Parsippany (Tudorache, Huang, Pathak, Caprioni). Site of meet: Drew University. Distances in yards. Team records: Parsippany 2-2, Madison 0-1.