Montgomery Girls Swim Battles but Falls to Deep Hillsborough Squad, 110–60

Nicholas Mistretta

MHS ’79 Cougar Sports Correspondent

Montgomery — The Montgomery High School girls varsity swim team ran into one of the area’s deepest lineups on Wednesday, dropping a 110–60 decision to undefeated Hillsborough in a home dual meet, but not before turning in several standout swims and closing the night with a statement relay win.

Hillsborough (3–0) seized early control by sweeping the top two spots in the 200-yard medley relay, with Montgomery’s A squad of Nina Tadych, Eden Ristuccia, Yarin Zarzhitsky and Angela Liu taking third in 2:11.31. The Cougars’ B and C relays — Zoey Alessandro, Jessica Wang, Vedika Gupta, Katerina Kondratyev and Catherine Morris, Leah Zong, Samidha Parambath, and Rashi Gandhi — added depth but Hillsborough’s early relay points set the tone.

Montgomery’s best work came in the middle of the lineup, where veterans repeatedly punched into the top three.

In the 200 freestyle, Juliet Boulos nearly stole the event, finishing second in 2:10.30, just 0.16 seconds ahead of Hillsborough’s Kiran Bar for the runner-up spot. She later came back in the 100 freestyle to take second again in 58.38, with Liu right behind in third at 1:01.44, giving Montgomery one of its strongest events of the meet.

Tadych anchored the Cougars in the individual medley and backstroke. She placed second in the 200 IM in 2:23.43, chasing Hillsborough’s Dylan Briones to the wall, and then found herself in a razor-thin finish in the 100 backstroke, where she took third in 1:11.68 — less than a quarter of a second behind the winner in a three-way battle (1:11.46, 1:11.62, 1:11.68). Zarzhitsky (1:15.89) and Alessandro (1:17.60) rounded out the backstroke scoring for Montgomery.

In the distance lane, Ristuccia delivered one of the Cougars’ brightest moments, winning the 500 freestyle in 5:53.50 and pulling away from the field over the final 200 yards. Josephine Chen (6:32.18) and Kondratyev (6:37.98) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to secure additional points.

Sprint specialist Angela Liu led Montgomery in the 50 freestyle, taking second in 26.86, while Kondratyev (30.30) and Katherine Karam (30.76) added depth in a crowded heat. In the 100 butterfly Gupta (1:11.59) and Zarzhitsky (1:13.52) finished fourth and fifth, with Karam also scoring valuable experience in the event.

The Cougars’ breaststroke crew turned in another strong effort. Averie Wu powered to second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:14.50, followed by Ristuccia in third at 1:20.31 and Zong in fifth at 1:23.17, giving Montgomery one of its most productive events of the night.

Montgomery’s relays continued to compete hard against Hillsborough’s depth. The 200 free relay of Wu, Zarzhitsky, Chen and Boulos placed second in 1:56.95, keeping the Cougars in the meet heading into the final event.

The night ended on a high note for Montgomery in the 400 freestyle relay, where the A team of Ristuccia, Boulos, Tadych and Liu came through with an impressive first-place finish in 4:07.69, outpacing Hillsborough’s scoring relays and closing the meet with momentum.

Despite the lopsided team score, Montgomery (now 1–1) showed competitive times across multiple events and continued development from both veterans and newer swimmers. The Cougars will look to build on their relay chemistry and strong individual performances as they move deeper into the winter schedule.

Photo Credit: Nicholas Mistretta/headlinenewsmontgomery.com