For the first time in many years, the Edison High Swim Team beat the Warlaw-Hartridge School. On January 16, the Edison swim team defeated its longtime GMC rival with a score of 96–74.
There were a total of eleven events, with Edison winning seven of them. The team outswam their opponents in the 200-yard individual medley (IM), 50-yard freestyle, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard backstroke, 100-yard breaststroke, and 400-yard freestyle events.
The 100-yard breaststroke was a notable performance for Edison, with Ella Ninal ‘29 and Ilyas Guliyev ‘28 placing first and third, respectively.
“I really pushed myself against my opponents as I knew that our team deserved this win,” said Ninal. “I was side to side with the opposing swimmer, and it came down to who touched the wall first. I got first place by milliseconds.”
Edison set the tone early in the 200-yard IM, with Jesus Jimenez ‘27 emerging as the winner with a time of 2:41.68. Jimenez was followed closely by a Wardlaw-Hartridge swimmer, then by Edison’s Guliyev and Shrey Patel ‘29.
“I had a personal record in 200 IM, it was my first time doing 100 breast, and I did really well on it,” said Guliyev.
Edison continued to assert its dominance, with Rachel Kou ‘27 taking the lead in the 100-yard butterfly, followed by two Wardlaw-Hartridge swimmers and Riti Thakare ‘28 and Tvisha Agrawal ‘28 of Edison.
“You could see that commitment in every race, with swimmers pushing through the finish and competing until the very last moment,” said Agrawal. “Many events were decided by seconds or even milliseconds, and that level of effort across the team ultimately made the difference.”
Karthik Saravanamoorthy ‘27, Ella Ninal ‘29, and Hamza Zapoorwala ‘27 placed second in their respective freestyle events, keeping Edison neck-to-neck with Wardlaw in the 50-yard freestyle, 200-yard freestyle, and 500-yard freestyle.
“My mindset was mainly nervous as I was waiting behind the starting block before my race, but as I began my event, I felt adrenaline that pushed me to swim to the best of my ability,“ said Ninal.
Edison displayed immense teamwork in the relay events, allowing them to defeat Wardlaw in many of these events. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Ninal, Guliyev, Keitaro Telesford ‘29, and Hanson Pien ‘26 came out on top. In the 400-yard freestyle relay, Saravanamoorthy, Pien, Kou, and Sai Chittala ‘27 won with a time of 4:32:30.
“The relays were a huge thing; we got first in the 400 free and 200 free relay,” said Guliyev.
The importance of Edison’s win over Wardlaw stems from their prior losses against their swimmers.
“The meet against Wardlaw stood out to me because it was our first win against them, which made it especially significant,” said Agrawal. “As it was Senior Night and our final meet of the season, everyone came in highly motivated and ready to give their full effort.”
After the meet, the team shared their reflections and fulfillment with their victory.
“The meet was a strong reflection of our work ethic, focus, and determination to finish the season on a high note,” said Agrawal.
Ninal agreed, citing a desire to see her team succeed and contribute to that success.
“Swimming inspired me to push myself to my limits, as I found out that I can achieve much more than I thought was possible,” said Ninal. “It’s a great way to improve yourself physically and mentally, because at the end of the day, when you really push yourself into beating your personal times and records, you feel a sense of accomplishment and self-satisfaction.”
