This school year, the Edison High School Swim Team is in the red division. They have dual meets with teams from other red division schools in Middlesex County. The Swim Team is coached by Mrs. Kaitlin Hoey, who also teaches World History to the high school’s juniors. Her love of swimming growing up inspired her to take over as head coach a few years ago. However, like any other year, this year has been especially challenging. 

The team participated in eleven different events, the longest being a 500 meters (twenty laps of freestyle) and the shortest being a 50 (two laps of freestyle). Typically, the Edison High School swim team has 3-4 “pool practices” before big meet days. This dedication has led to the Edison High School swim team boasting a 5-3 record for the year. Along with this collective record, the individuals on the team also have their own accolades. Aiden Nugent ‘24 broke the 500 free record (4:50.53) and the 100 fly record (53.79). In addition, Mary Elizabeth Conway ‘24 holds the 200 free record and the 100 fly record (1:00.17). Finally, the captains of the team Emily Matson ‘22, Dhruv Shidhaye ‘22, and Ishita Gabane ‘22, have all made their contributions to the team, allowing for their end of the season record to be 4-3.

The team is always seeking new members, as Masumi Chabbria ‘23 said, “We could use more people.” Hoey shares this sentiment: “We’re always looking to recruit new members even if they’re track athletes or football players that are in their off season as long as they have some motivation. Athletically, we can meet those athletes wherever they are, and it’s a good opportunity to try something new.” 

This year in particular, the team has received an influx of new players, as Hoey said: “we have a lot of new swimmers this year so we are working on building a lot of foundational skills for the different strokes…we are also working on the whole aspect of teamwork with the swimmers, building that foundation, getting them to know each other, especially after we spent a lot of time away from each other.” 

Finally, Hoey comes to a final consensus on the season: “The beginning of the season was a tough rebuilding process for the swim team through December and January, but the team was able to turn the season around by prioritizing the team over themselves and swimming with purpose each day. We finished the season with 4 consecutive wins and saw great efforts by our boys and girls at GMCs. We have a lot of potential that we witnessed in some of our freshman and sophomore swimmers and are excited to see where the program will go in the future.”