Whitehall’s swimming campaign continues to feel the ripple effects from a COVID-19 outbreak and other issues this season.

“We had COVID problems in December and also had troubles with the flu,” said head coach Pete Rile. “It has really hurt us.”

Rile noted the girls’ team has been straddled with low numbers all season, and they had an overall 2-6 mark beginning this week.

“We usually have a pretty strong girls’ program, but we weren’t expecting a lot this season,” he said. “But they have been battling and could have a good finish. We should have a few girls at districts.”

Rile has been pleased with the performances of junior Neave Doyle and freshman Allison Quach.

“Neave has been having her times drop,” stated Rile. “She has been doing a nice job in all events across the board. We expect her to have a good finish.

“In every meet, Allison’s times have dropped. She is getting better and better each time out there.”

On the boys’ side, Rile is optimistic about the remainder of the season. The boys had a 5-3 mark to begin the week. They had a recent victory over Southern Lehigh.

“The boys have been pretty solid all year,” said Rile. “Their biggest issue has been staying healthy. We went to Stroudsburg with only five boys healthy, and we had only four against Parkland. But Parkland got shut down because of COVID, and we had to reschedule it.

“Southern Lehigh has a lot of good swimmers, and it was nice to see us do well. We won the last relay, and our relay teams have been strong all season.”

Rile noted sophomores Ian Thomas and Aaron Stinner are still solid contributors.

“Those two guys have done a nice job, and they are getting better,” said Rile. “There times are in the range needed for districts, and they should be there. We have a strong sophomore class and a raw freshman class.”

The Zephyrs have four meets left that began with Liberty Tuesday. They also will face Saucon Valley, Northampton, and Moravian Academy.

“We’ll see how this week goes,” added Rile. “We believe we could have five boys and five girls at districts.

“We just have to stay healthy and hope they can keep lowering their times.”