BAY AREA: Princeton High boys’ swimmer Stephen Baytin displays his freestyle form in a meet earlier this season. Freshman Baytin has made an immediate impact as PHS has gotten off to a 3-1 start. In upcoming action, the Tigers host Hopewell Valley on January 6 and Bridgewater-Raritan on January 8. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Pat Remboski knew that his Princeton High boys’ swim team was facing a challenge when its hosted rival WW/P-South in its last meet before the holiday break.
“Before the meet we had a conversation,” said PHS head coach Remboski. “We knew going in it was going to be a tough meet, so we put our best lineup out there and we did our best.”
Although the Tigers fell 113-57 in the December 16 meet, Remboski believes his swimmers took a lot from the matchup.
“Regardless of the result, it was a great experience for all our swimmers,” said Remboski, whose boys’ squad moved to 3-1 with the defeat. “The boys’ team is so young. We lost a lot of talent from last year.”
Freshman standout Baytin, the younger brother of former Tiger star Daniel ’23, provided highlights in the meet against South for the PHS, winning the 500-yard freestyle and taking second place in the 200 individual medley.
“Stephen is very similar to Daniel, they are just really funny guys,” said Remboski. “Stephen is a competitor as well; he loves to win. He gives it his all. He is another guy who is like a Swiss Army knife. He is doing a great job. I remember seeing him in sixth grade and he was this little boy. Now he comes on the pool deck, and he is 6’2.”
Another key freshman, Natan Wysocki, has made a great impact for the Tigers.
“He is a quiet kid on the pool deck but talk about a competitor,” said Remboski of Wysocki, who took third in the 500 free against South. “He speaks with his swimming, and he leads with that. I am excited for the career that he will have.”
The squad’s corps of promising newcomers also includes Sebastian Rodricks and Jayden Zhang.
“Sebastian is a full-time rower, so he is balancing crew and swimming,” said Remboski. “Jayden is a positive as well. He always has a smile on his face; he is always happy to swim.”
A pair of sophomores, Eito Sakaguchi and Gabriel Colon, have emerged as big positives this winter.
“Eito actually transferred here, he is very solid,” said Remboski, noting that that Sakaguchi is from Japan. “He is incredible, he is another guy who is very quiet on the pool deck. He works his butt off every practice, he is just working and working. Gabriel has been contributing. He is also another full-time crew guy and he has been balancing the two.”
Juniors Michael Chorba and John Staples are providing a strong work ethic and veteran leadership.
“Our junior class is really strong, Michael and John are both captains this year,” said Remboski. “It is the same thing with both of them, they work hard.”
While PHS only has four seniors on the squad, Shawn Elwood and Rex Zhang are making their presence felt.
“Shawn is one of our captains as well as Rex,” said Remboski. “Shawn has made a big jump from junior to senior year; we are totally blown away by him. He has figured it out. He is in the gym, he is running, and he is swimming every day.”
With PHS starting January by hosting Hopewell Valley on January 6 and Bridgewater-Raritan on January 8, Remboski believes his young squad can make a big jump as it goes through the winter.
“If we can learn one thing from every meet about the players, about themselves, about the team, we are going to be in a better place coming into January,” said Remboski. “Bridgewater is No. 1 in the state on the boys’ side, and we are really excited to face them. That is one we can really learn from.”