Swimming

Boys Swimming ended the season with a 2-9 record, with victories against Cheshire and Canterbury. In addition, the team placed 5th in Division II and 9th among all schools competing at the Western Connecticut Championships hosted at the Hopkins School. This record does not adequately convey the amount of time and effort each individual swimmer put into the program – long practices, the commitment to the team, times dropped and the relationships fostered are proof enough of a truly devoted team of individuals who focused on improving over the course of the season. We were a young squad this year – after graduating nearly half the team, many of which were leading scores. With so much new blood, the team successfully used this newfound depth to our benefit in many meets and in many races. Given the strength and progress demonstrated over the course of the season, Coach Carey and Coach Saxton are ecstatic with the prospect of having an even larger number returning next year to pick up where we left off.

With returning captains and seniors Brooks Gerli and Tim Anderson at the helm, the senior leadership helped form the relatively young team into a group with the unified focus of dropping time and having fun. With such a wide base across the board in so many events, while this was a transitional year, it also meant that the team is a work in progress and, by the time some of the new swimmers develop over the next few years, Kent Varsity Boys Swimming is going to present quite a different face. This year, the team got just what it needed – some young blood. Now that we are in the process of working hard and getting faster, it is only a matter of time until we begin to see some substantial time drops and some improved team results.
Thought the varsity roster of this year’s Boys Varsity Squash Team consisted of seven seniors, the squad struggled to be competitive, ending the year with four wins. Victories over Canterbury and Trinity-Pawling in the beginning of the season, were offset with disappointing losses against the same towards the end. Despite the losses, the team, as a whole, remained positive throughout the season and retained a fun and spirited attitude. It was the team’s prowess and competitive spirit on the squash courts that helped end the season on an upbeat note with consecutive victories over Millbrook and Berkshire. Senior Andrew Rogan worked hard all season on his game – his efforts rewarded by winning this year’s “Most Improved Player” award. Seniors Harry Seherr-Thoss, Mike Lemaire, and Chris Funk led the team with personal wins, while Sebastian Bland, the team’s captain and “Most Valuable Player” for two years, led the team with his sportsmanship on and off the court.

Diving

Kent Diving began the season with three experience competitors: two sophomores, Kyle Beek and Kevin McKenna and one senior, Cassandra Visconti. After vigorous tryouts in early December, freshman Courtney Daukas and Addy Montilla joined them. Diving until a season-ending injury curtailed her participation was senior Vashti Chandler and sharing time with the swim team was freshman Corey Grever. Beek won the first two meets with scores of 136 and 135 with McKenna chasing close behind in second with scores of 127 and 121. The team encountered stiff competition versus experienced Hotchkiss and Westminster squads yet rebounded against Avon where Beek again captured first place with a personal best score of 164. Both Beek and McKenna participated in Western New England’s and New England’s at season-end.

Not only do divers compete against each other, but also against themselves, testing the limits of what they are capable of achieving. This year the girls captain, Cassandra Visconti, challenged herself to beat her previous scores, which generally hovered between 81 and 88 points. She succeeded, demonstrating both elegance and sheer determination – hitting her personal best in the final regular season meet with a score of 98.95!