The Madison High School swim season officially concluded after the Meet of Champions on March 3rd where MHS swimmers Anuthra Abeysinghe and Erin Barisonek both competed. The season lasted all winter with the last meet being the Girls’ groups semifinals against Caldwell. Across the season eleven school records were broken. This season also saw the introduction of three new coaches: Jeff Coviello, Ann Vilarino, and Wendy Munoz.
Meet of Champions (MOCs)
As previously mentioned team captains Anuthra Abeysinghe and Erin Barisonek both represented Madison at MOCs. Both ended up breaking school records.
Anuthra broke the school’s 100 breaststroke record with a time of 1:00.44. “I was pretty satisfied with my performance at the Meet of Champions,” commented Anuthra, “I had a lot of fun at the meet, and I was happy to be able to break a team record at the meet.”
Erin swam the 200 IM time clocking in at 2:12:00 and broke the 100 backstroke record with a time of 0:59.09.
Season Summary
This season saw many wins and losses for both the boys’ and girls’ teams.
The boys’ team won five of their meets and advanced to Quarterfinals after beating West Morris 103-67. During this, Ethan Simms, Jacques Chemaly, Anuthra Abeysinghe, and Spencer Rosenbaum broke a school record with their 3:28.43 400 yard freestyle relay.
Unfortunately, the boys’ season came to an end with their loss against Bernards, with a score of 99-71. However, they went out with a bang as Jacques Chemaly, Anuthra Abeysinghe, Spencer Rosenbaum, and Kaden Chou broke another school record, this time in 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:44.11.
“I am really proud of how the boys’ team progressed through the season. I think we have a lot of potential for next season. I can’t wait!” said captain Anuthra.
The girls had an equally outstanding season. The girls were successful against Rutherford in the group quarterfinals with the score being 94-76.
The girls would lose out by a narrow margin at the group semifinals against Caldwell. With a 4-point difference, the score was 86-82. Like the boys, they didn’t lose hard and made sure to put in all their effort. Erin broke two school records: 0:59.57 in the 100 yard backstroke, which she broke again at MOCs, and 2:11.31 in the 200 IM. Erin, along with Evelyn Juliano, her fellow captain Emma Dooley, and Layla Knoll clocked in at 1:47.39 in the 200 yard freestyle relay.
Despite the losses and closing of most swimmers’ seasons, everyone partied home on the bus, celebrating all their accomplishments this season.
Banquet and future captains
On March 13th, all swimmers gathered for the team banquet. The coaches emphasized how happy they were to have fellow swimmers working together and teaching each other how to dive and improve their stroke.
As new coaches, they also expressed their thanks to seniors and the booster club.
“We would like to thank and recognize the seniors for welcoming us into the program” said Coach Ann Vilarino,“and for being such a resource to us as we found our footing entering into a pre-established program kind of late in the game.”
“It was difficult to navigate since we were all new,” commented Coach Wendy Munoz, “but we had great support from administration, the booster club, the swimmers, and other coaches in the area.”
Despite the challenges of being new coaches, “coaching the swim team this year was a great experience,” noted Coach Coviello. “Having the opportunity to help each swimmer grow individually while having that growth translate to team success was satisfying as a coach.”
Each captain was also asked to go up to the podium and deliver a speech. Each expressed their gratitude to their coaches, parents, and the booster club for making the season possible. They talked of team bonding at dinners and on the bus as well as their enjoyment of practices and meets. As most are seniors, they were very saddened to say goodbye to the team.
The team lost a total of eight seniors: Tony Moreira, Captain Justin Dickson, Isabella Sarullo, Syuzi Kirakosyan, Eva Deng, Captain Sophia Modi, Captain Emma Dooley, and Captain Erin Barisonek.
At the end of the banquet the coaches announced the new captains for the next season. The new girls’ team captains will be Meredith McKeever, Layla Knoll, Evelyn Juliano, and Caitlin Jobe. The new boys’ team captains will be Jacques Chemaly, Martin Bria, Kaden Chou, and returning captain Anuthra Abeysinghe.
This season has proven to be a huge success. Many records were broken and the team was introduced to three new captains. Both teams performed very well and every swimmer always put their heart into every event.