As the fall slowly winds to a close, that means it’s time for the fall sports to begin to pack up their gear after some very successful seasons. But don’t you worry Hudson sports fans, the winter sports have just begun to gear up, ready to have some successful seasons of their own. We have the Girls Varsity/JV Basketball, Boys Varsity/JV/Freshman Basketball, Ice Hockey, Boys Bowling, Girls Bowling, Gymnastics, Wrestling, and, of course, Girls and Boys Swimming and Diving.
Coming off of a stellar 21-22 season, this powerful team is ready to continue their dominance in the pool. On the girls side, the team is looking to show that even though they lost a big class last year, they are still unstoppable. They will be led by senior swimmers Maria Armao, Lori Walton, Emily Clark, Mia Dezelic, Marisa Schenkenberger, Carrie Caniglia, and divers Lydia Redd and Leah Ploskunak. Out of these 8 girls, 4 are returning State qualifiers, and 7 are District qualifiers. The team is currently coming off of another District title, scoring 503 total points, the most points in the history of the Northeast District meet. They had multiple event champions and top 8 finishers. The Girls State team then went on to finish 6th at the Ohio High School Swimming and Diving State meet. Last year, the girls team had a senior class of 21 girls, almost half of their roster. This year, the class of 2023 will see another 8 girls graduate. Out of these 8 girls, at this time at this time only one has announced her decision to continue swimming in college. Marisa Schenkenberger, a two time state qualifier, will be attending the University of Delaware in the fall of 2023.
This year will be different for the Hudson girls program, as they will have to adapt to working with a smaller roster and learning to carefully spread out their swimmers to ensure a powerful showing at meets in each individual event. And let’s not forget about the relays. Last year, 2 of the 3 Hudson relays were District Champions, as they came in second to Firestone in the 200 medley relay. The hope is that this year, Hudson will be able to recapture that 200 medley title and become district champions in all 3 relays.
On the boys side, they will be led by one of their biggest senior classes in the past few years. The senior group consists of Roman Sawicki, Andrew Ketler, Ruben Szabo, Chris Petrella, Vittorio Cappabianca, Nick Catri, and Joey Pavlik. 5 of the 7 senior boys are returning State and District qualifiers. The boys team is also coming off of their second District title in the past 2 years, after their victory in 2021 against Jackson brought the title back to Hudson, ending a 6 year drought. The Boys State team went on to finish 11th in the state at the Ohio High School Swimming and Diving State meet. They are looking to have a powerful roster this year, having all their District swimmers returning except for 2 who graduated. The boys look to defend their title yet again, as well as move up in their state ranking, maybe even crack the top 10 marker. Out of their 7 seniors, two have announced their commitment to continue their swimming careers in college. Vittorio Cappabianca, a three time state qualifier, will be attending Cleveland State University, and Andrew Ketler, a two time state qualifier, will be attending Saint Bonaventure University.
This season, Hudson will feature a lot of successful returning swimmers, and some underclassmen looking to make a name for themselves. They have swimmers like Carrie Caniglia (100 FR), Alex Gallagher (200 IM, 100 BR), Andrew Ketler (100 FL), and Vittorio Cappabianca (500 FR) who became district champions in their respective events last year. Gallagher, a University of Kentucky commit, also broke the district record in the 100 BR last year. They also have swimmers like Ava Sawicki, Sara Baylor, Noah Bartlett, Ivan Reber, and Aiden Luczywo, who made their first district appearance last year. And they are preparing to take that momentum from their stellar freshman seasons, and use it to keep improving this season. On the diving side, Jack McDaniel, Lydia Redd, and Anna Haluch are all returning State qualifiers. Redd and McDaniel both placed 15th at the State meet, earning them All Ohio honors.
Some of these swimmers/divers are entering this season with big goals they are hoping to achieve. Junior Renee’ Morgan hopes to “get faster times in all of my events, specifically backstroke,” Junior Natalie Brindley is aiming high, saying that her goal is “ I WILL go to states.” Alex Mendoza hopes to “get better at swimming and make new friends.” And diver Simon Powers has a goal of “getting my reverse!!” As well as looking forward to achieving their goals, many team members are looking forward to other things. Senior diver Jake Lawton is looking forward to the meets and “making new friends!” Sophomore Libby Thomas is looking forward “to being with my teammates and making even more memories!” And senior Marisa Schenkenberger is excited “to decorate the locker room and go back to the Kenyon Inn / Kenyon dining hall this year.”
Overall, the biggest hope for this season is to finally see a return to normalcy. The team has been dealing with Covid 19 restrictions for the past 2 years, and nothing would make the seniors happier than to finally have one normal season, without having to worry about being shut down or dealing with masks and restrictions. If all goes according to plan, the victorious legacy of HHS Swim and Dive will live to see another year.
The team opens their season with a home dual meet against Twinsburg on Dec. 2nd, 5:30pm, at Ada Cooper Miller Natatorium. Go Boats!!
