McCall, a junior, was locked in a tight race with Brian Molloy of Toms River East for the first 200 yards, before McCall made a tactical decision that paid off. About nine laps into the race, McCall decided to pick up the pace and sprint.
"I knew I had to break away, otherwise he'd be there the whole time," McCall said. "It was a good point - right before the middle of the race - to start sprinting.
"It's all mental. The other guy gets thinking whether he has to pick it up. I was banking on him not being able to stay with me."
McCall's strategy worked as he was able to pull away and build his lead during the final four laps, winning by six seconds.
The victory in the 500 made up for his disappointing third place finish in the 200 freestyle.
"I'm mad about how I swam the 200," McCall said. "I should have turned it on a lap sooner. I might have been able to win."
The only other area swimmers to finish among the top three in an individual event were Vineland's Mike Oliva, third in the 50 freestyle, and Shawnee's Paul Maneri, a bronze-medal winner in the 100 freestyle.
Maneri also anchored relays that established school records in the 200 freestyle relay (1:28.49) and 400 freestyle relay (3:17.16).
"There are so many fast guys that I didn't worry about what they were going to do," Maneri said. "I just focused on my races and what I had to do. I tried to execute my game plan and it worked out well for me in my events."
The results
200-yard medley relay: 1, Hillsborough (Matt VanBiervliet, Sean Johnson, David Wilson, Robert Parker), 1:34.66. 2, Vernon, 1:36.60. 3, Moorestown, 1:38.22. 4, Westfield, 1:38.70. 5, Mountain Lakes, 1:38.98. 6, Haddonfield, 1:40.39.
