Coming off the 2022-2023 season, the boys and girls swimming and diving teams look to continue their success from last season.
At last year’s Division II New England meet, the boys team placed second overall and the girls team had several swimmers set personal records. The boys lost five senior swimmers last year while the girls only lost. This year, the boys team is led by senior Co-captains Ted Simons and Leo Zhang. The girls are led by senior Co-captain Maggie Poulin and junior Co-captain Miya Scranton.
Last season was the team’s first normal season after a few seasons were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was very different from my first two years coming off of COVID,” Poulin said. “The team was very tight, which made all the meets exciting, and it was a sad end of the year.”
Despite losing seniors, the team looks to build off their team chemistry to find success. “I look forward to competing this year,” Simons said. Heading into their first meets, the team has worked on strengthening their skills, especially for new swimmers. While they have success and experience from last season, every season is different.
“Every year the team has to create itself,” Head Coach Alex Kraus said. “The constant is learning, supporting one another, and trying new things.” Head Coach Kata Baker added on. “The biggest goal is to build upon the traditions from last year,” Coach Baker said. “We also want to work to strengthen daily diligence, which requires tenacity and practice.”
The team will also look to their veteran swimmers for leadership. Coach Kraus noted Simons, Zhang and senior Damian Czartoryjski. Czartoryski recently committed to Bucknell University to swim collegiately, a testament to his hard work and skill. Coach Kraus also highlighted sophomores Samit Virmani and Daniel Grigorian who both swim year-round and outside of school as well.
Coach Baker noted Poulin as a strong swimmer for the girls’ team and highlighted Scranton and junior Makenzie Gallagher as fierce competitors. Coach Baker also highlighted sophomores Ava Bonsignore and Sofia Athansio-Villa who will add some depth to the girls’ team this year.
The team has started their practices by splitting people into experience levels. The goals of practices are to help everyone and give them the best training possible, whether that is learning a new stroke, perfecting something, or doing cardiovascular training.
Both teams are looking forward to their upcoming meets. They had their first meet on Nov. 29, against Hopkins School.
Their second meet of the season followed quickly after on Dec. 2, against Wilbraham and Monson Academy. The team expected the meet to be very competitive.
While competing is important, both coaches also stressed the importance of team bonding and improvement. “One of my goals last year was to create a very safe place for all swimmers,” Poulin said. Coach Kraus also added to this. “I look forward to seeing what the team will become,” he said.
The team’s final meet before winter break will be the Kingswood Oxford Swim and Dive Invitational. Following, the team will set out for their annual swim training trip during winter break and will head down to Orlando, Fla. We wish the varsity swimming and diving team the best of luck in the season ahead!
