NHS boys get first swim win vs. Central
The Northampton High School varsity swimming and diving team welcomed Central Catholic High School to the Gwen L. Whildin Natatorium last Thursday evening, January 6, for their first home meet of the year.
It was a close matchup for both the boys and girls teams in which the boys team secured their first win by a score of 68-63 and the girls team was just edged out by a one point, 82-81.
Focusing on the positive outcomes of the meet, Northampton head coach Cullen Mentzell was pleased with the progress the team is making.
“The girls lost a close meet to Central Catholic,” commented Mentzell, “but both our new and experienced swimmers had several best times in this meet.”
Among the highlights for the girls were senior Olivia Szerencsits with first-place finishes in the 100 butterfly event (1:03.33) and the 200 freestyle (2:03.00). Szerencsits was also a part of the first-place girls 400 freestyle relay team along with teammates Ava Gower, Brenna Caley and Andrea Davidson. In other individual races, Gower claimed first place in the 200 IM with a time of 2:34.35 and Davidson was first to the wall in the 500 freestyle event with a time of 6:22.66.
Looking back over the performances of the boys team, Mentzell highlighted several key swimmers who made a difference and helped the boys secure their first win.
“Some of our younger swimmers like Micah Sommons, Ethan Brobst, and Steve Carrasco are starting to drop a lot of time,” explained Mentzell.
Sommons claimed first in the 100 backstroke while Brobst took first place in the 200 IM with a time of 2:36.21 and a close second in the 100 breaststroke event. Ryan Franke added to the points for the boys with a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle and Ash Murphy secured first in the 500 freestyle event with a time of 6:21.14. Sommons, Brobst, Franke and Carrasco also teamed up for a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay.
In the coming week the team will welcome William Allen Senior High School on Tuesday, January 18, at 4 p.m. and travel to an away meet at Nazareth Area HS on Thursday, January 20.