BY CATHERINE SHAPIRO
After the swim teams’ challenging seasons last year, they go into this season optimistic. The Knights will have to overcome the loss of key seniors though new additions to the team, including new head coach Fallon Quiles and assistant coach Andrew Boriello.
Despite the boys’ loss of two seniors, many swimmers from last year have improved from the prior season. “We have a good team this year, and I can’t wait to enjoy being a leader on our team,” said senior Jake Babst, who achieved a personal best time in the 100 fly and in the 100 back last year.
The girls face a loss of three seniors, including standout Madelyn Hopkins, but the returning girls remain eager for this season. “The loss of seniors made us lose a lot of talented people, but we’ve gained a lot more freshman, so it balances out,” said Emma Signorile, who got her time under 30 seconds in the 50m freestyle race last year.
Adding eight freshmen to the team gives the swimmers more opportunities in races and rankings because the more swimmers that make the leaderboard, the more points they receive. “[The shortage of swimmers] did impact us last year a lot since we didn’t have as many teammates to keep up,” said Yaroslav Zaletskiy.
As the swimmers prepare for the season, they have acquired new techniques from the coaches and plan to use some skills they have adapted from past seasons. “Consistency and effort at key to improving time in swimming, so as long as everyone shows up to practice and continues to work hard, I’m sure the results will reflect that,” said Kerri Domena.
With new talent and returning athletes, the swimmers have high expectations for this year’s team. “A couple of improvements I would want to see is more people qualifying for GMCs and scoring points for the team,” said Tyler Hopkins, who last season broke a school record in the 100-yard backstroke.
Their season opens on December 5 at Sayreville, and they face East Brunswick in their first home meet on December 12 at the Old Bridge YMCA.
Posted on December 4, 2025
Photos by Caitlin LaFlower
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