“IT’S FUN BECAUSE WE’RE ALL TOGETHER. IT’S NOT FUN
BECAUSE OF HOW COMPETITIVE IT GETS.”
Jordan Afromsky
of them are sprinters [including junior
Ashleigh Afromsky].”
The Afromskys gave Ridgewood a
strong three-pronged attack during one
of its strongest seasons in recent history.
The Maroons won a Big North Freedom
title and reached the North 1, Group A
championship. They finished the year
ranked No. 2 in The Record girls
swimming rankings.
“We have a lot of depth this year,”
Schmidt says. “That’s the biggest
difference. We didn’t lose much
[to graduation]. We only added to
our roster.”
A youth movement helped Ridge-
wood take third at the Bergen County
Meet of Champions this season. Key
contributors included sophomore Faith
Cortright and freshmen Morgan Hoff-
man and Bella Hoy. Senior Jess Chau
was one of the region’s top backstrokers
in her final season before heading off to
Carnegie Mellon University.
“We’re pretty well-balanced,” says
Ashleigh, who set school records in the
50- and 100-yard freestyles. “In almost
every event, we have a No. 1 swimmer.”
Being teammates isn’t a new experi-
ence for the Afromskys, who all swim
for the Wyckoff YMCA Sharks club
team. Once Ashleigh picked up the sport
early in her childhood, her younger
sisters soon followed.
“I started swimming when I was 8,”
Sarah says. “I just wanted to be like
her.”
There aren’t too many occasions
when the siblings find themselves
racing against each other for Ridgewood
– something their coach does by design.
But it’s not uncommon to see all three
on the same relay team. They joined
together on the winning 200-yard
NorthJersey .com
DIFFERENT STROKES (Top) Sarah Afromsky competing in the 100m butterfly against Wayne Hills
High School. (Above) Ashleigh Afromsky participating in the same meet in the 200m breaststroke.
freestyle relay in the team’s 124-46
victory over Wayne Hills in January.
Ashleigh led off and built up a lead.
Then the other two maintained it in the
final two laps.
Sometimes, a sibling rivalry can bring
out the best in everyone.
“It’s fun because we’re all together,”
Jordan says. “It’s not fun because of
how competitive it gets.”
“You don’t want your little sisters to
beat you,” Ashleigh jokes. “No one wants
to be the slowest one. We love each
other, but you want to be the fastest.”
Schmidt is starting to pick up on
the subtle differences between her
freshmen twins. It helps that she runs
into them periodically as a health
teacher at Ridgewood