The Northampton boys and girls varsity swimming and diving team jumped into their 2022-2023 season last week with two decisive wins over Freedom High School. With scores of 109–71 for the girls team and 117-62 for the boys team, Northampton’s first competition of the season and first home meet looked like a great start to head coach Cullen Mentzell.

“The first meet went well,” commented Mentzell. “The swimmers and divers were really excited to compete and race for the first time in a while.”

That excitement shined through as the K-Kids began the competition with double first place finishes in the boys and girls 200 medley relays. The team of Andrea Davidson, Gabriella Oswald, Ava Gower and Isabella Kish placed first for the girls and the team of Micah Sommons, Ethan Brobst, Ryan Franke and Nicholas Isaac claimed first place for the boys.

The excitement continued for the girls team, as Ava Gower, Brenna Caley, and Andrea Davidson all claimed first-place finishes in their respective events. Specifically, Gower was first to the wall in the girls 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly events; Caley placed first in the girls 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke events; and Davidson claimed first place in the girls 500 freestyle event. Oswald also contributed several points to the team with second place finishes in the girls 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle events and Ava Keenan added to the win with a second-place finish in the girls 100 breaststroke. Sophia Pina placed second in the girls 500 freestyle.

The boys team had their share of excitement as Ryan Franke, Ethan Brobst, Nick Isaac, and Micah Sommons were all first to the wall in their events. Franke took first in the boys 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly events; Brobst claimed a win in the boys 200 individual medley and a second-place finish in the boys 100 breaststroke; Sommons placed first in the boys 100 freestyle event and second in the boys 100 backstroke; and Isaacs was first to the wall in the boys 500 freestyle event. Gabe Gower also contributed to the K-Kids points, placing second in the boys 500 freestyle event; Bryce Torres grabbed a second-place finish in the boys 100 butterfly and Jacob Ladd took second in the boys 50 freestyle.

The relay team of Ladd, Alex Szeplaki, Andrew Szeplaki and Boden Burkhart placed first in the boys 200 freestyle relay and Isaac, Sommons, Brobst and Franke added to the points for the K-Kids with a first-place finish in the boys 400 freestyle relay.

In the diving events, Northampton’s Isabella Kish and Boden Burkhart placed first for the girls and boys diving squad respectively. Northampton divers Abigail Gutkowski, Andrew Szeplaki and Alex Szeplaki also contributed diving points to the K-Kids’ win.

Looking forward, Mentzell sees this first meet as a sign of good things to come.

“For as well as we swam on Tuesday, I believe that we have a lot of potential,” said Mentzell. “[The swimmers] have been attentive at practice and are willing to keep working to get faster.”

Time will tell if their hard work will pay off as the team hits the road for their first away meet this week.