The Central swim team’s season wrapped up on Friday, February 7, with the girls’ team taking a loss in the second round of the state tournament. Throughout the season, the girls had a record of 4 wins, 5 losses, and one tie while also securing a second-place finish at HWS where Tori Castro, senior, had an outstanding performance that earned her MVP of the meet. The boys’ team concluded with a significant win against Immaculata High School. After a challenging season, this victory provided a strong, uplifting end to the year.
One of the most significant moments of the season was the dual meet against North Hunterdon during the swim team’s senior night. Not only did the girls win, but the atmosphere during the meet was full of energy and excitement from the team cheering loudly to support their teammates. Because the boys and girls swimmers were all excited to swim fast, the relays did exceptionally well. With the win and the celebration for the seniors, the night was the perfect mix of excitement and positive energy.
Most sports teams do what’s called a psych, a theme for a game. These can range from dressing up in Central merch to going all out and wearing a variety of fancy outfits. The swim teams’ psych for each meet, usually decided by the seniors, never fails to bring excitement to the competition. One of the most popular themes this year was twin day, where swimmers paired up with a buddy and dressed identically, as the name suggests. This encouraged the swimmers to have fun and get even more excited for the upcoming meet. Dressing up according to the theme and being creative before meets created a special bond for HC’s swim team throughout the season.
This year, both the underclassman girls and boys stepped it up. They showed an incredible amount of improvement, pushing themselves and getting faster with each race, showing tremendous growth, both in the pool and as teammates. A special shoutout goes to the new freshmen girls, Leanne, Olivia, Ellie, and Liana, who made a big difference right away. Despite being new to the team, they quickly adapted by showing up to every practice, bringing their valuable energy and skill to the group. On top of that, the seniors were able to pass on the lessons they’d learned, whereas the younger swimmers were more than ready to take on the challenge and keep the team strong for the future.
The captains, Tori Castro, Dhyana Abeysinghe, Izzy Chanin, Swetha Fernando, and Raghav Dutt also showed up this season. As leaders, they made sure the team stayed motivated and supported, especially when things got tough. Whether it was helping with warm-ups, cheering on teammates, or just being there to listen, they all showed what true leadership was really all about. The seniors proved themselves as role models by bringing their experience and energy to every meet, inspiring all.
The parents and coaches played a huge role in the team’s success this season as well. Coaches provided the support, guidance, and motivation the swimmers needed to keep improving, made practices fun yet challenging, while the parents helped in ways beyond just cheering them on at meets, like hosting fun pasta parties fostering the great environment for the team to bond.
The team had a big turnaround this year, and as the boys and girls grew stronger and closer with each other, at every meet they improved their times as well as their commitment to practices and meets. Though the season ended with mixed emotions, there is definitely strong potential for next year’s swimmers. The team has laid a solid foundation this season, complete with significant contributions from the underclassmen, which will only help drive the program further up.
