By Claire Wong on SwimSwam
EEX Holiday Classic XXXVIII
December 19 – 22, 2025 Sonny Werblin Recreation Centere (Rutgers) Short Course Yards (25 yards) Results centralOn the final day of New Jersey’s annual Holiday Classic, 14-year-old CJ Friends of Metro Area Lifetime dove into the pool for the 100 freestyle and touched the wall in 45.51, dominating the rest of the field by over 2.5 seconds. With that swim, he broke the 13-14 state record in the event, lowering the mark by 0.05 seconds. The previous standard was held by Jack Alexy, a US Olympian, the current American record holder in the long course edition of the event, and silver medalist at this year’s long course World Championships.
Friends, who entered the season with a PB of 46.88, took down the record on December 22, just one day shy of his 15th birthday. By the end of the meet, he had won all four of his individual events and tied for high point.
Splits Comparison:
Split Alexy, 2017 Friends, 2025 50 21.83 22.10 100 45.56 (23.73) 45.51 (23.41)Though Alexy was out over 0.2 seconds faster, Friends’ back half made up all the difference and then some.
Here are Friends’ full results from the meet:
100 fly – 50.71 100 back – 52.04 50 free – 21.27 100 free – 45.51 400 free relay split (leadoff) – 46.98 400 medley relay split (free) – 45.77Friends’ connection to Alexy runs beyond the record book, as he is currently a freshman at Delbarton High School—Alexy’s alma mater. In fact, the two have crossed paths: “I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with Mr. Alexy over the last year,” Friends said. “He told me that he wanted me to beat his record. He is gracious and embodies what it means to represent the USA. I’ve also tried to imitate his long, strong strokes that makes him fast.”
In the moment, Friends noted that he didn’t realize what he had just done.
“I didn’t know I had a record,” he said. “But I knew I swam really well.”
His confidence comes from the work done during practice—Friends credits his development to his club coaches Asher Phipps and Ian Brown, his high school coaches Patrick Savidge and Alma Lopez-Holder, and the Kulp family, all of whom played key roles in his growth this season.
On December 16th, less than a week prior to this meet, Friends helped Delbarton defeat Chatham High School to snap the Cougars’ 58-meet win streak. He lead the Green Wave to a win over the Cougars for the first time since 2021, when Alexy was a senior. At that meet, Friends won both the 100 back and 100 fly—the same exact events Alexy won at the Chatham vs Delbarton meet back in 2021. Friends also contributed to the Green Wave’s winning 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.
Friends has seen monumental success at the age group level: he is a 13x finalist at the Eastern Zone level and 5x champion. At Zones this past summer, he reaped gold 4 times, which notably included a 53.45 in the 100 free long course.
Other highlights from the meet are covered here.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Lifetime Metro’s CJ Friends Breaks Jack Alexy’s 13-14 NJ Record in the 100 Yard Free
Hence then, the article about lifetime metro s cj friends breaks jack alexy s 13 14 nj record in the 100 yard free was published today ( ) and is available on swimswam ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Lifetime Metro’s CJ Friends Breaks Jack Alexy’s 13-14 NJ Record in the 100 Yard Free )
Also on site :