Bay State Conference
Heading into the season, the Bay State Conference has several teams positioned for strong competition both at the regional and state levels. Last year offered a look at the league’s depth, evident by Newton North’s third place finish at the Division I state meet while Framingham took home the South Sectional title for the first time since 2015.
Newton North returns a deep roster led by athletes such as Aidan Furlong who excelled in the 50, 100, 200 and 400-yard freestyle events in last year’s state meet. Along with him are strong returning Miles Schiefer, Ryan Dell, Sebastian Huculak and Zachary Levinsky all of whom contributed to the team’s top three finish.
Brookline, fresh off a 12th place state finish, returns key contributors Roman Speck and Logan Krolnik, with hopes of making an impact this season. The team opens with a meet at Framingham on Dec. 15, a rematch of last year’s narrow mid-season loss.
Other consistent conference contenders, including Wellesley, Needham, Natick, and Braintree, could shake up the standings and are expected to challenge the region’s competitive landscape once again.
Other Baystate Conference players to watch
Andrew Call, Needham
Ben Sawatdiphong, Natick
David Soong, Natick
Jenson Crisafulli, Natick
Noah Rodgers, Wellesley
Mason Chou, Wellesley
Catholic Conference
The Catholic Conference enters another year of competition with St. John’s Prep leading the way and other teams looking to close the gap on their reign.
The Eagles are coming off their 17th Division I state championship win in the past 19 years, finishing with a score of 330 points – nearly double that of the runner-up Westford Academy. With previous victories over Xaverian, Catholic Memorial, and Saint John’s Shrewsbury, there is no telling what they will be able to accomplish in another year of contest.
Despite graduating nine seniors from last year’s roster, coach Jeff Fiore says their standard hasn’t changed.
“The goal is always another state championship,” Fiore said. “We’re definitely younger than we’ve been, but there are great opportunities for our younger boys to step up.”
The Eagles look to senior captain Wes Ross to head these efforts, who placed top five in the 100-yard freestyle and 200-yard freestyle in the state finals. Sophomores Brendan Titlyey and Declan McDonald join Ross as key players to watch this season as they hope to maintain the Prep’s dominance.
Xaverian also enters as a top contender after a successful previous season yet falling to Framingham in the South Sectional title meet. The Hawks will face tough competitors throughout the season like Needham, Catholic Memorial, and Boston College High School, with their first meet scheduled for Monday, Dec. 15 against Central Catholic.
Catholic Memorial will look to key swimmers such as senior Jordan Kinch, the previous conference MVP, as well as Kevin Garvey and Brian Wukitch. Other programs, including BC High, Saint John’s Shrewsbury, and Malden Catholic, are looking to breakthrough as well and challenge the top teams this season.
Other Catholic Conference players to watch:
James Gage, Malden Catholic
Ronan Sanzone, Malden Catholic
Ethan Curran, Malden Catholic
Vincenzo Palerno, Malden Catholic
Adam Picard, Saint John’s High School
Matthew Ciarocco, Catholic Memorial
