Congratulations to Mary Pilkington and Diego Varona, December’s Athletes of the Month!
Mary Pilkington is a three-year varsity starter who:
As a junior and team captain, has emerged as the new leader of the Lady Bulldogs Swim team. Mary is the highest point earner and currently holds six PCTI Girls Swimming records including the 200 freestyle, the 500 freestyle and the 100 Breaststroke. She is also a member of the PCTI 400 freestyle relay, 200 freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay. Mary consistently scores big in meets and won all her individual events in the opening swim meet of the 2017-2018 season against Hackensack. She steadily works to improve her performance and acts as a strong influence on the performances of her teammates. Outside of dual meet competitions, Mary has achieved First Team All-League, as well as First team All-County honors in the past two consecutive seasons and looks to be on pace to repeat those accolades in the upcoming seasons. This season she looks to firmly etch her name to the school’s record book as she attempts to improve her individual and team relay records. Mary, a resident of West Milford, is a student-athlete in the School of Applied Technology with a 3.96 GPA and she ranks in the top 10% of her class.
Diego Varona is a four-year varsity starter who:
Is a dominating leader and a captain for the PCTI Boys Swim team. Diego is a big part of the success the team experienced. He was an integral part of the “3-peat” on the county and league levels. He was also a top scorer for the state sectional championships in the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Diego is a versatile swimmer who anchors the Bulldogs’ 200-free relay and the 400-free relay which have qualified for the prestigious Meet of Champions for the past two seasons. Diego is one of two swimmers to qualify for this meet in an individual event (50 free) last year with his PCTI record breaking time of 22.18 seconds. This tremendous feat marked PCTI’s first appearance in the exclusive NJSIAA championship meet with an individual, from which only a handful of the state’s top swimmers get a chance to compete. Outside of dual meet competitions, Diego has achieved First Team All-League, as well as First Team All-County honors, in the past three seasons and looks to repeat those accolades in this his senior year. Diego currently holds six of the records on the PCTI record board: three individual records (50 free, 100 free and 200 free) and three record breaking relay team positions. As a resident of Clifton, this student-athlete of the School of Communication Arts has a GPA of 3.55 and ranks in the top 25% of his class. Diego is looking to swim in college and is very excited to take advantage of the opportunities that will be presented to him.