Knights Advance to State Semi-Finals
For the first time in program history, the girls’ swim team advanced to the Non-Public B State Semi-Finals after upsetting higher-seeded Moorestown Friends, 89-77, on Tuesday, February 11.
Despite Moorestown Friends boasting some of the top swimmers in the state, Gill used its incredible depth to come away with the victory. The Knights only won three of the 11 events, but regularly scored just as many points per event as their opponent to keep them in the meet.
The momentum of the meet took a huge swing towards GSB during the 500 freestyle. Olivia Soultanian ’22 earned Gill’s first win on the day with a time of 6:32.30, followed by teammates Laura Howard ’21 and Caroline Grant ’20, to complete the sweep and outscore the Foxes 13-3 to take a 56-50 lead.
Gill followed up this huge performance with Becca Michaels ’20 taking first in the 100 backstroke in 1:00.53, and then the 400 freestyle relays of Michaels, Howard, Olivia, and Maddie Soultanian ’20 sealing the victory with a winning relay time of 4:01.77.
“It is an unbelievable feeling to come away with this win,” said head coach Nolan Silbernagel, who was thrown in the pool in celebration afterwards. “This is a significant achievement and shows how hard everyone worked the entire year to achieve this goal.”
The Knights will be back in the pool for the state semi-finals on Monday, February 17, against Trinity Hall at the Neptune Aquatic Center.
Gill St. Bernard's School
Gill St. Bernard’s is a private, coeducational day school for students age three through grade 12, located in suburban New Jersey. Each of the three school divisions provides a rigorous, meaningful, and age-appropriate curriculum, and all students benefit from the environmental learning opportunities that exist on our 208-acre campus.