Marciano helped Randolph swim team make history

After Randolph won the NJSIAA North I-A final, the school's first sectional title, Vinny Marciano wouldn't let go of the trophy. In the water, out of the water, waiting in line at Cheesecake Factory afterward, Marciano had the trophy in his hands.

That's how important the team title was to Marciano, a Rams freshman.

Marciano has won dozens of U.S. swimming age-group events and set many national records. He won the 100-yard freestyle at the Meet of Champions, becoming Randolph's first male state champion. But it was the team honors which meant the most to him.

"The individual state title is cool, but seeing my entire team put in all they had, and seeing us come up with the win, it didn't compare," said Marciano, the 2015-16 All Daily Record Swimmer of the Year.

"It was a different feeling from that and MOC. When I won a state title, I knew it was the work I put in myself. That race only relied on me, and I'm confident in myself. When I go into races like that, I know what I can do. In state sectionals, I had to rely on my team, and it really paid off."

Randolph also relied on Marciano. He had joined the Randolph YMCA team as a 7-year-old, then switched to Morris County Swim Club and started dropping significant time around age 10. The Rams swimmers had been talking about him for years, and Marciano even introduced himself to a few of them at the Morris County Championships last year, when he was in eighth grade.

Rumors – quite a few of which were actually true – surrounded Marciano when he showed up for his first required practice and promptly beat all his teammates. Yes, he has swum in the same (warm-down) pool with Olympic legend Michael Phelps. But no, he hasn't qualified for the Olympic Trials himself, at least not yet.

That's been one of Marciano's main goals for the past four years. He gave up baseball and basketball last year to focus solely on swimming.

Though Marciano was dealing with tendonitis in his shoulder at the start of the season, his presence alone gave the Rams newfound confidence. He and the rest of the freshmen wasted little time earning their places on the varsity roster.

"He's very low key for a freshman who's had so much success. He's very down to earth," Randolph coach Linda Poppy said. "When he gets focused, he gets very serious, very quiet. You can definitely tell when he's got his A-game on. … Everyone's expectations were high, but he went down and did it every time."

The Morris County champion in the 100 free and backstroke, Marciano swam every individual event but the 500 free for Randolph this winter. He lost just one individual high school race all year: the 50-yard freestyle at the Meet of Champions – and even then, he finished second by just five hundredths of a second. He rebounded to win the 100 free, and turned in a 23.54-second backstroke leg to lead off Randolph's medley relay, which won the consolation final.

Marciano was part of 11 Randolph school records. He broke the 50 and 100 freestyle for the final time at the Meet of Champions, as well as the 100 backstroke marks in both yards and meters, and the 100 butterfly in yards. Marciano also swam backstroke on the Rams' record-setting medley relay in both yards and meters, and anchored the 400 free relay in both yards and meters.

Marciano doesn't want to pigeonhole himself into a single specialty, saying only, "right now I'm the best at backstroke and spring freestyle, but that can change in an instant." He prefers the intensity of sprints, regardless of stroke.

"He's sometimes relaxed and seems carefree and is a very fun, very energetic person," said Randolph senior Theo Everett, who was part of both relays. "When it comes down to it, like at counties and Meet of Champions, he got very serious about the races and was a whole other person, almost entirely. He was concentrating on what he had to do."

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

Top Morris County Boys Performances

Medley relay: Morristown (Michael Macchia, Matt Critchley, Tommy Cromie, Owen Breslin) 1:34.53 – Feb. 27 at Meet of Champions prelims

200 freestyle: Ryan Waters (Morristown-Beard) 1:41.65 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

200 IM: Joe Scerbo (Mountain Lakes) 1:54.42 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

50 freestyle: Vinny Marciano (Randolph) 20.96 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

100 butterfly: Matt Luciano (Mountain Lakes) 50.0 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

100 freestyle: Vinny Marciano (Randolph) 46.03 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

500 freestyle: Ryan Waters (Morristown-Beard) 4:32.76 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

200 free relay: Morristown (Michael Macchia, Owen Breslin, Derek He, Matt Critchley) 1:25.95 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

100 backstroke: Vinny Marciano (Randolph) 51.77 – Jan. 30 at Morris County Championships

100 breaststroke: Matt Critchley (Morristown) 57.02 – Feb. 28 at Meet of Champions

400 free relay: Randolph (Henry Taibi, Brian Hermes, Theo Everett, Vinny Marciano) 3:18.2 – Feb. 27 at Meet of Champions prelims