Tag: high school swimming preview

Of the eight swimmers chosen (six females, two males) for last year’s Lowell Sun All-Star team, seven return for this fall season, including swimmer of the year Mackenzie Gibbons of the Academy of Notre Dame and Chelmsford’s Lily Dunlea, who was named The Sun’s Diver of the Year for the second straight year.

Gibbons holds seven school records, won two events at the MVC Championship Meet, Division 2 sectionals and the Division 1 state meet, where she was crowned the 100-meter backstroke and 100 butterfly champ.

Other all-stars returning are Chelmsford’s trio of Nora Williamson, Mai Pho and Anna Florence, and on the boys side, Billerica’s Peter Hong and Tewksbury’s Alan Dang.

Academy of Notre Dame/Dracut/Tyngsboro

League: MVC

Last season: 1-7

Captain: Mackenzie Gibbons, sr., free/fly/back

Other returning letterwinners:  Aura Da Silva, sr., back/fly; Dwayne Wangari, jr., back; Chris Ngigi, so., free; Alaina Foss, so., free/IM; An Tran, so., free; Lara Zyla, so., free/breast; Ian Diaz, so., free/back; Viha Rane, so., fly/free; Emma MacLeod, 8th, free; Olivier Perrier, 8th.

Promising newcomers: Thomas Baldwin, jr.; Julian Gornisiewicz, fr.; Perla Gomez, so.; Wesley Rylas, so.; Sebastian Nova, 6th; Jordana Farrow, 7th.

Coach Nicole Musher (3rd season): “We are excited to have our two-time state champion, Mackenzie Gibbons, back for what I’m sure will be a great season. We are also welcoming new members from Tyngsboro High School. This year, we are focused on growth for our newer swimmers, as well as integrating our co-op teams, Dracut and Tyngsboro, for future success. Although our team is still fairly young, we are optimistic, and excited, to see what this year brings.”

Billerica

League: MVC

Last season: 2-6

Captains: Allison Gargalianos, sr., diving; Yuwal Kumar, sr., breast/free; Sophie Barriault, sr., free/IM; Peter Hong, jr., breast/fly

Other returning letterwinners: Kiera Harvey, jr., fly; Kaelyn Kerr, so., back; Andy Gerasimov, sr., free; Sammi White, jr., back; Ishaan Dadhirao, jr., free; Ryann Kobrenski, fr., diving; Elizabeth Agpar, so., back; Arjun Mahajan, sr., back; Hailey Romanik, fr., free/breast; Emily Manganiello, fr., back; Pedro Da Silva, sr., breast.

Promising newcomers: Arvin Khemraj, 8th, free/fly; Sasha Kirik, 8th, IM; Aarusg Srinivasan, fr., free.

Coach Brooke O’Connor (1st season): “With the majority of the strong swimmers returning, we continue to get faster on the swim side, especially with a couple of experienced eighth-graders to add to the events.”

Chelmsford

League: MVC

Last season: 5-6

Captains: Lily Dunlea, sr., diving/free; Mai Pho, sr., back/IM; Vaanya Sangwan, sr., fly.

Other returning letterwinners: Maya Barry, jr., free; Anna Florence, jr., free; Maddie Gregory, so., free; Olivia Karacek, so., back/free; Giana McLatchy, so., diving; Julia Perez, jr., breast/IM; Nora Williamson, jr., free.

Promising newcomers: Nora Criscione, fr., free/IM; Vivienne Kam, fr., back/free; Isabella LeDuc, jr., fly/back; Delaney Varnum, fr., breast/free.

Coach Harriet Kinnett (30th year, 292 wins): “The swimmers and divers have been working hard at practice. Our talented upperclassmen are ready to step up and fill the roles of our graduated seniors. We should be competitive in the Merrimack (Valley) Conference.”

Lowell

League: MVC

Last season: 0-8

Returning letterwinners: Madeline Akashian, so., breast; Natalie Dang, sr., free; Ami Ginsberg, jr., IM/back; Ella Heng, sr., free/back; Johnattan Khat, sr., breast/diving; Lily Kin, jr., free; Ethan Koeuth, so., free/breast; Jevistar Loeum, so., free; Jaiden Long, jr., free; David Morais, jr., free/fly;  Victor Nguyen, so., IM/breast; Nam Phan, sr., free; Daffeny Porseng, jr., free; Kelly Souza, sr., IM;  Olivia You, sr., free.

Promising newcomers: Lucille Berni, so., free; Aliyah Burgos, so., free; Julianne Fox, fr., IM/free; Nathan Kim, so., free/back; Alissa Kim, fr., free; Quoc Le Thoueithaisong, sr., free; Sovanreach Ly, so., free; Joseph Maniscalco, so., free/back; Jennifer Nguyen, fr., free; Violet Zapata, fr., free.

Coach Jennifer McGlauflin (16th season): “We’re excited to build on the strong team culture that’s earned us the conference Sportsmanship Award the past two years. This season our focus is on continuing that tradition while also raising our competitiveness by pushing for best times, stronger finishes and being more competitive in dual meets. With our mix of experienced returners and new athletes, we’re looking forward to steady growth and a season we can be proud of.”

Tewksbury/Methuen

League: MVC

Last season: 7-2

Returning letterwinners: Hope Anderson, sr., free; Elijah Putnam, sr., free; Ethan Corthell, jr., back/free; Sophia Cabral, so., free; Case DeLano, so., IM/breast; Alan Dang, sr., fly/breast; Joanna Green, sr., fly/back; Madisyn Greenwood, jr., free; Avitel Gaidukova, so., breast.

Promising newcomers: Soufiane Bridaa, fr.; Camdyn Rae DeLano, fr.; Jesse Torres, fr.; Ella Corthell, 8th; Mason Borushik, so.; Joseph Todd, so.; Kyle Chiu, fr.; Dylan Dang, fr.; Gabe Pinheiro, fr.; Evathia Kazanis, 8th.

Coach Jason Smith (23rd season): “We graduated a very strong class, so our young team will have some big spots to fill. However, we have had a great first week of practice, and hopefully that hard work will pay off and we will be ready to compete starting with our first meet against Chelmsford.”