River Edge finished 75 points ahead of second-place New Milford, in what was otherwise a very closely contested meet. Just 19 points separated second to fifth place in the overall standings.
Meet host Woodcliff Lake came in third, with 181 points, just two points ahead of fourth place Hasbrouck Heights.
Two wins in the relays, the 6/7 year old combined girls and boys relay, and the 9/10 girls relays, were key.
Heights fought back with a win in the final contested race of the evening, the 15-17 girls 200 yard relay, but it was not enough. Waldwick was just eight points behind Heights in fifth, with 171 points. Mahwah, in its first season in the league, came in sixth with 151 points.
The league championship is different than the dual meets that make up the regular season, as each team is limited to one swimmer per race. It also has a different scoring system than the regular season meets.
Having a swimmer in every race is of huge importance, something that only River Edge was able to do.
River Edge was the only team with a competitor in the 15-17 year old boys swimming Individual medley, freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and relay races. And while most races had a full complement of swimmers, periodic gaps where teams did not have an available swimmer affected the results (a sixth-place finish is worth a point, but a “did not enter” does not).
Team Scoring: River Edge 265, New Milford 190, Woodcliff Lake 181, Hasbrouck Heights 179, Waldwick 171, Mahwah 151.
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