Piscataway, NJ — Trinity Hall sophomore Caroline Gmelich broke her own NJ State swimming record and qualified for the 2014 Winter Senior National Championships this weekend (July 24 – 27, 2014) at the 2014 Long Course Junior Olympics Championships held at Rutgers University. Gmelich, who swims for the Central Jersey Aquatics Club (CJAC) as well as Trinity Hall, finished the 100 meter backstroke in first place (13-14 age group) with a time of 1:04.69, besting her own record of 1:04.98 from last year’s Junior Olympics and crushing the fastest time in the 15-and-over age group by almost three seconds. Her performance this weekend qualifies her for the 2014 Winter Senior National Championships this December where she will be one of the youngest competitors.
Gmelich and Malia Wolf, fellow Trinity Hall classmate and CJAC teammate, excelled at the Junior Olympics, qualifying for the final heats in every event they entered. Highlights from the weekend include:
- Caroline Gmelich: 1st place in the 100 back, 200 back and the 400 IM; 3rd place in the 200 free; 5th in the 50 free
- Malia Wolf: 2nd place in the 200 IM; 2nd place in the 200 fly; 5th place in the 100 fly; 7th in the 400 IM
With the strength and experience of these student-athletes on their small Trinity Hall swim team, Head of School Mary Sciarrillo sees the start of a swimming tradition. “We are incredibly proud of Caroline and Malia for their success this weekend – but we’re not surprised,” said Sciarrillo. “These students are part of our exceptional inaugural swim team that showed great promise in their first season. Trinity Hall students are leaders, and Caroline and Malia are the cornerstones of what will be the best high school swimming program in the area.”
“Caroline and Malia certainly deserve the success they enjoyed at the Junior Olympics,” said Alyssa Morreale, Trinity Hall’s head swim coach. “Their intense training throughout the club swimming season will undoubtedly pay off during the high school season when they lead Trinity Hall to be one of the top teams not only in Monmouth County but in the state.”
Trinity Hall, which opened its doors in 2013 to a class of 30 ninth-grade students, is the only all-girls high school in Monmouth and Ocean counties. The Fall 2014 athletic season will begin on August 18, 2014, with ninth and tenth grade students participating in cross country, soccer, volleyball and tennis.
About Trinity Hall
Trinity Hall is an independent all-girls college preparatory high school, educating and empowering young women in the Catholic tradition. Trinity Hall’s core values of leadership, respect, perseverance and faith are foundational to our mission and work as educators. For more information, visit www.trinityhallnj.org.