The dual meet segment of the scholastic season has the weekend off, allowing the South Jersey Interscholastic Swimming Association Coaches Invitational to take center stage.

Action begins at 10 a.m. this morning at the Gloucester County Institute of Technology in Deptford with competition in Division B followed by Division A at 4 p.m.

Here are some things look for as the meets unfold:

Division B

Ocean City, in its first season as a split team, looks to be a solid favorite to capture the team title. The Red Raiders have two relays seeded first and two individuals, Samantha King and Renee Tomlin, the top seed in two individual events apiece.

Ocean City is seeded first by more than two seconds in the 200 medley relay over Kingsway and more than half a second ahead of Holy Spirit, the Division B champion, in the 200 free relay.

Meanwhile, King is seeded first in the 200 IM by more than three seconds over Kingsway's Stephanie McAllister with a time of 2:15.51. She's also first in the 100 backstroke, but that race figures to a bit tighter with Sacred Heart's Regina Hartman and McAllister in the hunt.

Tomlin is first in both the 50 and 100 frees. She has a one-second advantage in the 50 with a seed time of 24.75 and almost three seconds in the 100 with her time of 54.92 seconds.

Ocean City could feel some heat from Woodstown, Kingsway and Holy Spirit.

Woodstown boasts the meet's only other individual seeded first in two events. Junior Sammi Edwards is first by a substantial margin in both the 200 and 500 free. In fact, her time of 5:01.23 in the 500 is two seconds under the record set by Gloucester Catholic's Bridgette Cahill in 2002.

Division A

Records could fall like dominoes in this meet. In six of the eight individual races, the top seed is entered with a time faster than the record.

Are we going to see that many record breaking performances? Probably not, because you have no idea where these kids are in their training. No way of telling how much they'll have in the tank when they step on the blocks, but it will be fast nonetheless.

Mainland's sensational freshman, Joanna Thomas, is first in the 200 free just a fraction off the meet record. But her 4:59.15 entry time in the 500 is four seconds under the oldest individual record on the books (5:03.41), set by Stephanie Schwab of Cherry Hill East in 1989.

Millville's Cara and Jill Smaniotto have three top seeds between them. Cara, a senior, is first in the 200 IM (2:09.55) and 100 back (59.31), just under the records set by Carolyn Savini of Holy Spirit in 2000.

Her sister, Jill, a freshmen, has the top spot in the 100 butterfly with a time of 57.40 seconds, a fraction under the mark established by Lenape's Shannon Lynch in 1998.

Egg Harbor Township junior Sarah Czar is first in the 50 free in 24.40 seconds, .16 under what Shawnee's Laura Barolin swam in 2002. In the 100, her time of 52.05 seconds is three-quarters of a second faster than what Kaleena Laputka of Shawnee did in 2002.

In the team chase, Mainland looks strong with three relays seeded first in addition to Thomas, but the Mustangs will be pushed by defending champion Cherry Hill West, Eastern and Washington Township.

Tradition

Eastern coach Bill Fulton knows about tradition.

As a 1989 graduate of Cherry Hill East, he was an All-South Jersey performer and part of the storied history of that program. He's experienced it there and seen it at other schools. Now he wants the same for Eastern.

"Even though the girls have been in the program for a number of years, this is an opportunity for them to start and build something," Fulton said. "I look at teams like Cherry Hill East, Vineland and Washington Township, teams that have had great swimmers over the years and have experienced success.

"We're a bit behind, but the girls at Eastern have an opportunity to work toward that and, from a coaching standpoint, I like the fact I'm going to be around to help and start it here."

The Vikings are 5-3 this year and figure to qualify for the state tournament for the first time as a girls' team. They have only three seniors and the talent is spread equally among all four classes.

Senior Emily Reichard has been a mainstay of the program and can be found on the top times list in the 100 breaststroke. Juniors Molly Dilks and Monica Dawydowych are solid center lane swimmers. Sophomores Sarah Beggs and Shannon Silber have top five times in the 100 butterfly and 100 free, respectively. Meanwhile, Jacquie Ward and Michelle Chuang lead a promising freshmen class.

"They're still trying to establish themselves," Fulton said. "We've been quiet on purpose. We don't want to rustle any feathers along the way. We're getting stronger. We're having fun and we're doing it in a way that is respectful of other teams.

"We hope to do well at the Invitational. We're excited about meets we have coming up next week against (Cherry Hill) West and East.

"In 2002, we qualified (as a coed team). This year we should qualify for the girls' tournament. It will be nice for the seniors who were freshmen on that 2002 team."