ECC

East Lyme/NFA co-op

Coach: Rob Bouchey (7th season)

Key returnees: Sr. Mingwen Duan (butterfly/backstroke), Jr. Connor Foerster (freestyle), Jr. Ed Morcos (freestyle), Jr. Ian Liu (freestyle), Jr. Albert Zhu (individual medley/breaststroke).

Top newcomers: Sr. Alessandro Palomino Salcedo (butterfly), So. Caleb Blanchard (backstroke), So. Milenko Miltenberger (freestyle).

Outlook: With all three cooperatives in the ECC made up of different teams from a year ago, East Lyme welcomes NFA swimmers to its ranks. That, combined with the fact the teams will swim in the Southern Connecticut Conference Division II and compete for a championship there instead of for an ECC title, makes for a great deal of change on all fronts. Zhu and Morcos were each members of East Lyme’s ECC champion 400 freestyle relay team last season. The Vikings were second in the team standings at the ECC meet, while NFA was fourth. Former NFA head coach Walker Cook remains on the staff under Bouchey.

Fitch co-op

Coach: Katey Kokomoor (5th season)

Key returnees: Sr. John Chirico (freestyle/butterfly), Jr. Valentino Tippetts (freestyle/backstroke), So. Sterling Welsh (50 freestyle/100 freestyle), Jr. Evan Hespeler (freestyle, individual medley), So. Joel Hespeler (distance freestyle/backstroke).

Top newcomers: Jr. Will O'Donnell (distance freestyle), Fr. Gabe Pacheco (breaststroke/individual medley).

Outlook: The Fitch co-op consists of swimmers Fitch, Stonington, St. Bernard and Wheeler, gaining St. Bernard in the mix of schools but losing Ledyard. Also gone from the two-time ECC championship team is Swimmer of the Year Michael Urgo, the ECC 50- and 100-yard freestyle champion, who graduated, and 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly champ Jacob Lin, who stepped away from high school swimming. Evan Hespeler was the ECC’s 500 free and 100 backstroke champion and also swam a leg of the winning 200 medley relay team and Welsh was an ECC champ as a member of the winning 200 free relay. “Along with the rest of the ECC teams, we will feel the loss of swimmers due to reshuffling the co-ops,” Kokomoor said. “We, however, have a strong core group of swimmers who are excited about the upcoming season.”

Waterford/Ledyard co-op

Coach: Amy Poulton (1st season)

Key returnees: Jr. Alexander Startz (individual medley/butterfly), Jr. Andrew Bertrand (individual medley), So. Nikolas Vajdos (50 freestyle/breaststroke), Jr. Ethan Jones (backstroke/diving).

Top newcomers: Sr. Louis Dhervilly (diving).

Outlook: Ledyard goes from being a member of the Fitch co-op to teaming with Waterford. For Waterford last season, Startz was second in the ECC in the butterfly and fourth in the IM, while Jones was third in the backstroke. Jones and Dhervilly are both newcomers to diving. Poulton said the Lancers are hoping that through their hard work, they will qualify as many swimmers for the state meet as possible.

(SCC Division II includes Sheehan/Lyman Hall/Coginchaug co-op, Notre Dame-West Haven, Milford co-op, Shelton and West Haven)

Other

Williams

Coach: Dana Clark (5th season)

Key returnees: August van Berkel (all strokes), Helen Godshall (individual medley, 500 freestyle), Annabel McKillop (freestyle, breaststroke), Abigail Potts (freestyle/breaststroke), Kiera McKillop (freestyle/breaststroke).

Top newcomers: Seb Knoop (freestyle/butterfly).

Outlook: Williams is in the midst of rebuilding after a decrease in numbers following the pandemic (the girls were CISAC champions in 2020 and boys were runners-up). The team is young and still developing with what Clark terms “rigorous practice focusing on endurance and technique.”