After finishing 14th in last year’s state finals, the boys swim team hopes to improve their placement for the 2025-26 season. Associate head coach Ginny Palmich said the team’s primary goal for the season is to place in the top ten at State.
“I think we will have a lot more boys making state cut times this year, so we are hoping to be a top ten team this year at State,” Palmich said.
To qualify for State, swimmers have to make a specific time cut. Last year, the Knights had six boys eligible to compete at State. Senior co-captain James Carrico said with this year’s roster, he thinks the team has the potential to send more swimmers to represent Midtown.
“Our team’s strengths this year are definitely our work ethic mentally,” Carrico said. “I would say we have a good shot at getting a lot of kids to State and winning a lot of meets in the regular season.”
Palmich said many of the swimmers’ offseason training has helped with development. She said this will also help in increasing the amount of State qualifiers.
“A lot of them have trained a lot since the last time I saw them,” Palmich said. “This definitely contributes to our season overall and how they perform.”
Senior co-captain Alex Vinciquerra said the coaches have been evaluating the swimmers to identify areas for improvement.
“In the first few practices, the coaches assess the swimmers and figure out what we need to work on,” Vinciquerra said. “Then, they work together to make a plan that’s implemented into our training to help us improve. This helps set the tone that we are here to work and get better and is a crucial part in us improving over the season.”
Palmich expanded on the importance of analyzing the team’s strengths and weaknesses. She said it is crucial to experience growth throughout the season.
“We have really just been looking at everybody and figuring out where we can make adjustments or change things up,” Palmich said. “We’ve been focusing on having more constructive and effective practices so that we can really implement these changes and make a difference in swimmers.”
Following the 2024-25 season, only four seniors graduated. Carrico said this has helped with carrying over team cohesion.
“I think the team definitely has really strong chemistry, especially considering the amount of returning swimmers we are getting back this year,” Carrico said. “Most of the swimmers already know each other and even the new swimmers feel welcome and are already fitting in on our team.”
Freshman Cole El-Deiry said he has felt welcomed so far this season. He said he thinks this connection will help swimmers both in and out of the pool.
“They are really nice,” El-Deiry said. “They say hi to me in the hallways, and I just feel included and involved even as just a freshman. This makes me think that as the season goes on everyone will be very supportive and positive towards each other.”
Palmich emphasized the importance of support from teammates in swimmers placing well.
“Encouraging team camaraderie is going to be really big this year,” Palmich said. “It’s super super super important. Knowing your teammates and feeling comfortable with them is so huge in team events specifically in races like relays where everybody needs to be on the same page. I think that could help make or break our season.”
Carrico also noted the level of dedication this year’s team has shown so far.
“What seems the most apparent is the level of commitment this year,” Carrico said. “Everyone’s been coming to practice and working hard. We’re looking strong, and I think it will take us far this season.”
The Knights open their season on Nov. 1 at the APS Kickoff meet. Vinciquerra said this meet is important in setting the tone this season.
“I’m super excited to see how we do at the APS Kickoff,” Vinciquerra said. “I think this will definitely help in establishing that we are serious about this season. We are serious about winning and we are serious about making improvements the rest of the season. We are really just working towards State and every meet we have until then is like a stepping stone to get us to where we need to be.”
