The Northampton swimming and diving team jumped into their 2024-2025 season with a win against Freedom Tuesday, Dec. 4. Both the women’s and men’s teams enjoyed the season’s first victory with the women’s team besting Freedom by a score of 103-82 and the men’s team tallying 130 points versus Freedom’s 55.

Feeling great about a winning start to the season, Northampton head coach Cullen Mentzell commented, “Tonight was good. This was one of our better first meets.”

Amid the individual first-place finishes for the women’s team were two wins for freshman Amelia Sommons in the 200 freestyle and 100 backstroke events. Olivia Kuhns placed first in the women’s 50 freestyle, and Northampton senior Gabriella Oswald placed first in the women’s 100 freestyle event. Northampton’s 200 women’s freestyle relay team of Oswald, Kuhns, Ava Keenan, and Sophia Pina also placed first.

Northampton showed its strength in the distance events, claiming first and second place for the women’s team in the 500 freestyle with strong swims by Toni Bubier in first and freshman Sophia Kostik in second. For the men, sophomore Logan Saylor grabbed first in the 500 freestyle, with junior Nick Isaac and senior Ethan Brobst completing the sweep of a tough distance showing for the Northampton men.

Saylor also claimed first in the men’s 200 freestyle, and freshman Henry Schoeneberger finished first in the men’s 100 freestyle event. Isaac was first to the wall by fractions of a second in the 50 freestyle sprint, just edging out teammate Tobias Scott with a time of 24.31 vs. Scott’s 24.34. Rounding out Northampton’s individual victories, sophomores Nate Scheirer and Joshiah Hippert both achieved a matching set of first-place finishes, with Scheirer grabbing two decisive firsts in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke and Hippert rocketing to first in the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke events.

In the diving events, Northampton’s Allison Unangst placed second for the women’s team, and Northampton’s Alex and Andrew Szeplaki sprung into second and third place, respectively, for the men.

Northampton ended the night with wins for both the men’s and women’s teams in the 400 freestyle relay event. The relay team of Bubier, Pina, Sommons, and Keenan placed first for the women, with the team of Scott, Schoeneberger, Scheirer, and sophomore Shane Foley grabbing first place for the men.

As this year’s season gets underway, Northampton is looking forward to their first away meet against East Stroudsburg South High School on Tuesday, December 10.