RHS Lady Bulldogs: Swimming State Sectional Champions

By Jennifer Ersalesi

This year the Rutherford High School Swim team had one of its most successful seasons. Hours of practice inside and outside of the pool, teamwork, and true Bulldog grit enabled Rutherford's swimmers to break records and make it all the way to the state sectionals. This is Rutherford interviewed RHS swim coach, Steve Dunn, to find out more about the team's incredible season.

TIR: This year's boys' and girls' swim teams have been very successful.  Just recently the Lady Bulldogs became the State Sectional Champions.  To what do you attribute their success?

Steven Dunn: Our girls team has had a historic season in the pool.  We are currently 11-0 and won the North 2 Group C state sectional championship.  The girls are set to swim against Haddonfield in the group C state semifinal on Thursday 2/19.  This is the first sectional championship by a Rutherford girls swimming team.  Our girls are a complete team who's depth has won us our meets.  As a coach, I am so proud of the way our girls care for one another and most importantly sacrifice for each other when they are called upon to swim their events.  It has been a privilege to watch our girls step up time after time when the pressure is at its highest.  The team has worked hard during practice and improved throughout the season, putting together our best times when it was needed in our biggest meets.  When a group of people believe and support one another, anything is possible.  The 2025-2026 girls swim team is a perfect example of this.

TIR: For the first time in 13 years, the girls' swimming team beat Leonia.  Can you tell us more about this swim meet?

SD: The first real big hurdle for our girls swim team to climb was beating Leonia/Pal Park.  They have been our biggest rival in the pool since I became head coach in the 2013-2014 season.  That year we beat Leonia and since then they have beaten us 11 straight years.  They are a great program with a lot of super star swimmers.  We could not match their top end talent so we had to use our superpower; our team depth.  In a very close meet, it came down to certain 4th or 5th place finishes that made all the difference.  In the end, we were able to triumph in an 89-81 victory and win the regular season NJIC title.  This theme would repete for our next 2 big meets, in the state sectional semifinal vs Verona and the state sectional championship vs Madison.  Both meets were very close affairs which took a complete team effort and were both won by a score of 87-83.

TIR: The Boys had a great season too.  I believe their record was 9-1.  To what do you attribute their success?

SD: The boys had a great season finishing up at 9-2 and second place in the NJIC.  They won a home state playoff meet against Mendham and then concluded the season by losing to a very good Governor Livingston team in the state sectional quarterfinal round.  The boys team success could be attributed to the hard work they put into every practice.  They had a mindset of continually improving and it showed in their times as the season progressed.

TIR: What does a typical week look like for a RHS swimmer?  How many practices?  How do they build up their strength and stamina?

SD: Our swim program practices everyday after school from 3:15pm - 4:45pm.  Stamina is built through specific workout sets the swimmers complete on a daily basis.  We practice all aspects in a meet: the start, turns, relays and all of the individual strokes in varying distances.  We sometimes complete 6 "stations" where swimmers work on different aspects as they rotate between lanes.  We also will use our club, or year round, swimmers to run certain drills in these stations to help our winter only swimmers.  This helps build team chemistry and also improves our team as a whole.

TIR: What makes you especially proud of these athletes?

SD: What I am most proud of is the way our swimmers respond to high pressure situations.  This is the reason why our fastest meets came during the state playoffs.  And this does not happen by accident.  It comes from the respect and love that the swimmers have for one another.  When you see the pure excitement after a big win it stems from the hard work the whole team has put in throughout the season.  And my hope is that all of these kids will take lifelong lessons from this great season.  That when you work hard at something and trust and support the people you are with; the sky is the limit.

Gabriella Pakovics, Natalie Hower, Isabella Bianco, and Olivia Mendez

This is Rutherford also interviewed the top four swimmers on the girls' team this season.

TIR: The RHS Lady Bulldogs have had an amazing swim season and are headed to their first state sectional championship.  Why do you think you have had such a successful season?

Gabriella Pakovics: I believe we've had a successful season because of an influx of skilled freshmen and because of development in our team's code and overall spirit. Although it definitely helps that our team has received several good freshmen this year, our constant focus on performing at our best and putting the work in is what really allowed us to have a great season. Our cohesiveness and sense of camaraderie is, in my personal opinion, what allowed us to get so far in states.   

Isabella Bianco: Honestly, I think we had such a successful season because we focused on having fun. Yes, power pointing and placing well was always necessary for our wins but that wouldn’t be possible without our laughs and support for one another. Whether it was blasting music in the locker room or screaming our hearts out for each other behind the blocks, the relationships we made set us apart from other teams. Our uplifting environment definitely made a huge significance on us this season especially for our non-club swimmers who really made a big impact on the depth of our team. Our depth was a massive advantage for us this season in our close meets such as Leonia, Verona, and Madison.

Olivia Mendez

Olivia Mendez: I think I had such a successful season due to my hard work and intense training. My teammates also played a major role in my success this season. Everyone supported one another and as a team, we brought each other up and helped each other stay positive throughout our nervous moments. This season was a great example of excellent team effort. 

TIR: The four of you were recognized by the NJIC as part of the first team.  This is an incredible honor.  How are you feeling after receiving this kind of recognition?

GP: I'm very happy I've received the First Team Award from the NJIC. It makes me feel that all my hard work in and out of the pool has paid off, and I'm very glad I stuck with competitive swimming even when things got tough. 

IB: I feel great after receiving this kind of recognition for my second year in a row. I am so thankful for Natalie, Gabby, and Olivia for our awesome, now record breaking relay. 

OM: I feel very happy and accomplished after receiving this kind of recognition. I feel so glad that my hard work and dedication paid off and resulted in being recognized by the NJIC as part of the first team. 

TIR: Can you tell us more about the training and preparation for these swim meets?

GP: I trained and prepared for these swim meets by attending both club and high school practice everyday, while participating in dryland activities. I was also careful with what I ate, and took many measures to prevent injury, such as stretching and using a roller. 

IB: To prepare for these meets, our club kids helped out the non-club kids with their technique. This could include out of pool coaching or occasionally us getting in the water as many of us had to go to our club practices after. To prepare, we also needed to come up with lineups which I am grateful Coach Dunn trusted me to make and assist with this year. Other than that, I went to club practice where I did most of my training that includes lots of yardage and fast intervals. 

OM: I've been fortunate enough to complement my Rutherford High School team training with the Rebel Aquatic Club training. My training has included early mornings at dryland training, practices after school, and club evening practices. It was a tough season, but luckily I was able to push through the tough sets and  difficult training with the support of all my coaches and my teammates. 

TIR: Do you have any mentors who have assisted you along the way?

GP: I can thank my high school coaches Coach Dunn and Coach Nuara for helping us get this far and never losing faith in us. Most of all, I thank my competitive swim coach for the Rebel Aquatic Club, Coach Chris. He taught me all I know and supported me through good and bad times. 

IB: Some mentors who assisted me along the way include my current and former club coaches. Coach Nuara and Coach Dunn also helped me transition during my freshman year into the high school swim environment as it is much different from club. Instead of focusing on independent times like I do for club swim, the two helped me view the sport as a team effort that depends more on the performances of everyone rather than myself. I also would like to thank my parents and my brother for keeping up with everything along my journey. 

OM: My coaches Chris Dunn and Mike Lazzara have been great mentors throughout my swim and high school season. They've been incredibly supportive both in the pool and out, always believing in me and helping to push me to my true potential, even when I sometimes haven't believed it. Swimming is a very difficult sport that requires a lot of discipline, mental strength, and dedication. It takes a village of support.