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carlett Shu may only be a freshman, but that hasn’t stopped her from not just rewriting the record book for Harrison swimming, but adding continual edits on a book that she has near complete ownership of.
In less than two months, Shu already owns the school record in five different events and this past Monday was one of the breakout stars of the Hudson County Meet of Champions.
Shu left Bayonne’s Lincoln Community Pool with two gold medals, taking first place in both the 200 Yard Individual Medley (2:16.12) and the 500 Yard Freestyle (5:30.15). In both events, she broke her own school records.
Shu, who is believed to be the first Harrison girl to win a Hudson County swimming title, is The Observer Athlete of the Week for her latest record setting performances.
“There was definitely some adrenaline when I stepped onto the pool deck since I didn’t really know who my competitors were,” said Shu. “However, I stayed calm for the most part.”
“She’s got enough experience where she just knew what she had to do and she’s proven that,” Harrison head coach Barry Mattern said. “She knows how to stand up to the take and she gets it done.”
Mattern saw Shu compete at the middle school level, so he knew that if she went to Harrison it would be a game-changer for the program.
“She’s swimming early in the morning, sometimes till late at night, and she’s putting in that work. So I know she wants it.” said Mattern. “I know she is ready to put in the work that it takes to be that good. Now she’s showing the rest of the county, the rest of the league, what she can actually do.”
Besides for the 200 Meter Individual Medley and the 500 Meter Freestyle, Shu also now owns the school records in 200 Yard Freestyle, the 100 Yard Butterfly and the 100 Yard Backstroke.
Based on her times with her club program Scarlet Aquatics NJ-Wave, a nationally ranked program based out of Paramus, Shu only needed to take one glance at Harrison’s record board to know that it wouldn’t be long until her name was plastered all over it.
“When I saw the previous school records, I already knew I had the potential to break them since I’ve swum faster at club meets in the past,” Shu said. “It was an exciting moment to see it all come together and officially set those records.”
Shu has goals on the three remaining individual events she hasn’t claimed the records for yet, the 50 and 100 Yard Freestyles and the 100 Yard Breaststroke.
According to Shu, the breaststroke is her best stroke. At Scarlet Aquatics, her favorite events are the 200 Breast and 400 Individual Medley.
Shu started swimming at the age of 9, but said she “never really took swimming seriously until I was 11.”
As part of Scarlet Aquatics, Shu goes to Paramus for 5 a.m. practice twice a week, in addition to her time in the pool for Harrison.
Shu’s times have her already qualified for the state individual tournament in February, but her goals for the rest of her freshman season go beyond individual marks.
“My goals for the rest of the season is to help other swimmers improve their technique, swim the best I can, break the other records,” said Shu. “And, most importantly, to have some fun!”
There’s no denying that Shu is plenty motivated for the rest of the season and beyond. In case she needs any more in the future though, all she’ll have to do is take a look at the record board at the end of the season. That’s because for as impressive as the times she’s posted this season for the Blue Tide, those are not her own personal bests in those events.
For Shu, those came in the club season.
“I didn’t break any of my personal bests this season,” said Shu. “But the foundation I’ve built has definitely helped me succeed as a freshman.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)