WORCESTER – The Shrewsbury High School boys’ varsity swim team capped off the second of two straight decisive victories to open their season this week.

The Colonials most recent win was a 92-65 triumph against Advance Math and Science Academy on Monday at the College of the Holy Cross pool where they won first place in nine out of the eleven events in the meet. They also had three, double winners, including junior Kevin Dong in the 200-yard freestyle (1:56.70) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.52); senior captain Kenneth Lee in the 200-yard individual medley (2:20.31) and 100-yard butterfly (1:02.30); and junior William Wu in 100-yard freestyle (52.42) and 100-yard backstroke (103.41). Each swimmer scored 12 points for the team with their victories. 

Shrewsbury junior William Wu

Shrewsbury head coach Courtney Mulcahy called the swims “standout performances,” particularly Dong, who qualified for the Central Mass Sectional Championship meet to be held in February in both his events, while Wu qualified in the backstroke. Freshman Aiden Le also finished first in the 50-yard free (27.08) and second in the 100-yard free (1:00.76) for 10 points.

“The kids are pumped about the two wins,” said Mulcahy. “Historically, we haven’t always had a winning record, so it is a great way to start the season off.”

Shrewsbury’s first team win came last week when they beat Tyngsborough on the road, 87-57. Wu was a double winner in that meet in the 200-yard free (2:02.82) and the 500-yard free (5:24.22). His time in the 500 qualified for sectionals. Also placing first in that meet was junior Jonathan Shan in the 50-yard free (26.91) and Le in the 100 free (59.78).

Mulcahy credits their success to a deep roster. “I honestly think the first two meets came down to the depth of our roster,” she said. “Both teams we faced had strong swimmers, but we had more depth.  Don’t get me wrong, we definitely have some powerful swimmers, but a swim meet is a numbers game. There are teams in our League with comparable rosters which will be a great challenge.

Although they have won four-out-six total relays in the last two meets, they also suffered four disqualified relays as well. “The relays were DQ-ed because of early starts,” Mulcahy said. “We will be working on our timing more in our coming practices.”

Shrewsbury captain Brian Alperson said he is just happy to be back swimming as a team again. “So, last year I think I felt like we were missing a huge chunk of what made the swim team

Shrewsbury senior captain Brian Alperson

special,” he said. “Although we were all together, there’s so much distance between everyone and we hardly were able to interact [due to COVID restrictions] … This year is exciting.” 

Mulcahy said there is a positive atmosphere on the pool deck. “They are also realizing the value of every place at a meet counts,” she said. “When a race is neck and neck, whether it’s for first and second place or fifth and sixth, they are really showing their excitement to cheer their teammate into the wall hard.”

As a senior and freestyle distance specialist for the team, Alperson’s goal this season is to create fun bonding activities throughout the season, as well as, making sure every swimmer is supportive of one another. “I just want it to be a fun season for everyone,” he said. His personal goal is to qualify for the Midland Wachusett League championship meet in February and break the 7:30 mark in the 500-yard free. He finished with an 8:35.00 in the first meet, but then dropped time in the second meet with a time of 7:51.86. His personal best is a 7:36, so he has a good chance of reaching his goal if he continues to drop time each meet.

Alperson shares the captain’s duties with Lee. Mulcahy said the captains set a good example for the rest of the team to follow. “They have a love and passion for SHS and swimming,” she said. “They lead by example with hard work. They have all swam on SHS since freshman year.  They are well respected by their peers.”

There were also several second-place finishes for the boys in both meets. In the first Tyngsborough meet, they were sophomore Vishnu Angrias in the 200-yard free (2:35.06), Lee in the 200-yard IM (2:19.81), sophomore Rishith Prathi in the 100-yard butterfly (1:37.72), and junior Alex Anderson in the 100-yard free (1:06.93). In the AMSA meet, they were Shan in the 200-yard free (2:16.40), Le in the 100-yard free (1:00.76), Anderson in the 500-yard free (7:43.34), and sophomore Joshua Huang in the 100-yard backstroke (1:11.55).

Mulcahy said this team is a great group to work with. “They are funny and hard-working and know how to keep both in balance,” she said. “I have enjoyed watching them grow, mature and have successes.”

Shrewsbury’s next meet is against Algonquin Regional High School on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 4:15 p.m. at the Holy Cross pool.

Shrewsbury coach Courtney Mulcahy gives instructions as junior Zaid Sayed listens. Photo by Kevin Paul Saleeba

Shrewsbury Girls Swim Team Beat AMSA, 100-56.

WORCESTER – Not to be outdone by the boys, the Shrewsbury girls swim team continued to excel in the pool on Monday by beating AMSA for their second straight win.

The Colonials had five first place individual finishes in the meet, including sophomore Maria Korneva in the 200-yard free (2:21.50) and the 100-yard backstroke (1:07.25), sophomore Hannah Reddick in the 200-yard IM (2:26.60) and the 100-yard free (1:00.01), and freshman Audrey Liu in the 500-yard free (6:49.30). Liu also placed second in the 200-yard free (2:29.87) to finish with 10 points. Both Korneva and Reddick scored 12 points each for the team.

Shrewsbury also placed first in the 200-yard freestyle relay of Korneva, Nicole Shen, Eile Purdy, and Reddick. The Colonials place second in three relays, including the 200-yard medley relay (Korneva, Shen, Reddick, Purdy), the 200-yard free relay (Katie Colby, Natalia Branco, Jamie Li, Nicole Plotnik), and the 400-yard free relay (Li, Plotnik, Enyonam Agadzi, Retna Arun).

The Colonials improved to 2-0 on the season. Their next meet is against Algonquin Regional High School on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 4:15 p.m. at the Holy Cross pool.