Next up on the Daily Hampshire Gazette’s All-Stars schedule is boys and girls swimming.
Local swimmers made sure to leave their mark over the course of the winter season, with a large number competing alongside the best in the state.
The Gazette sports department weighed participation and performance at postseason meets significantly in selecting who made the cut as All-Stars.
Swimmers from Turners Falls were also included since the Thunder are the lone team from Franklin County.
Honorable mentions were named as well for swimmers who did not quite fulfill All-Stars status.
Swimming All-Stars
Girls
Rowan Albertson – Amherst
In the Hurricanes second place performance at the MIAA Girls Division 1 State Championship, Albertson led her team with 34 individual points, putting a cap on an impressive senior season.
Teagen Demers – Amherst
Demers also showed out in the state championships meet, with top-eight placements in both the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke.
Audrey Spiridopoulos – Amherst
Spiridopoulos appeared in three individual events in the state championship, taking home sixth-place finishes in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, along with ninth place in the 200 IM.
Finnley Chambers – Amherst
Rounding out the star-studded senior class for the Hurricanes, Chambers earned fifth-place finishes at the state championship in both the 200 and 500 freestyle.
Emory Albertson – Amherst
In just her eighth-grade year, Albertson burst onto the scene, taking third place across the state in the 100 backstroke, as well as fifth in the 200 IM.
Natalie Parent – Belchertown
At the girls Division 2 state championship, Parent dominated her individual events, taking the top spot in both the 100 butterfly and 100 backstroke.
Grace Perron – Belchertown
At the Central/West sectionals, Perron also did well in her individuals, placing third in the 50 freestyle and fourth in the 500 freestyle.
Karolina Robak – Easthampton
As the lone swimmer representing the Eagles at the state championship, Robak showed off her skills with 11th-place finishes in both the 200 IM and 100 freestyle.
Safia Abdul-Knerr – Northampton
The Blue Devils’ small group that made the Division 1 state championship was headlined by Adul-Knerr, competing in both the 200 IM and 100 backstroke, with 21st place finishes in both.
Elise Marks – Northampton
As Hampshire County’s lone diver to make the state championship, Marks made an impact by finishing the finals of 1-meter diving in 15th place.
Clara Bloomenthal – Northampton
Competing in just the 500 freestyle at the state championship, Bloomenthal made her mark with a 14th-place finish in her lone event.
Honorable mentions: Caprial Dibartolomeo (Amherst); Lindsay Franz (Amherst); Lily Wambura (Amherst); Kylie Fitzgerald (Belchertown); Addyson Thomas (Belchertown); Margaret Wheeler (Belchertown); Destiny Ranzie (Belchertown); Kylie Fitzgerald (Belchertown); Addyson Thomas (Belchertown); Taylor St. Pierre (Easthampton); Allison St. Pierre (Easthampton); Telyn Kelly (Easthampton); Kayleigh Hogan (Easthampton); Katie Caron (Holyoke); Maeve Healy (Holyoke); Kierstin St. Lawrence (Holyoke); Zadie Dole (Northampton); Willa O’Donnell (Northampton); Alice Fortin (Turners Falls); Lillian Walker-Hanning (Turners Falls).
Boys
Lewin Halasz – Amherst
Halasz was one of two Hurricanes to make an appearance at the boys Division 1 state championship, taking home 23rd place in the 200 IM.
Tallon Demers – Amherst
As the only other Amherst swimmer competing at states, Demers participated in two events, earning 22nd in the 100 freestyle and 29th in the 50 freestyle.
Ryan Gould – Belchertown
Gould played a big role in the Orioles’ fourth-place finish at the Division 2 state championship, nabbing fourth place in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 50 freestyle.
Drake Dragon – Belchertown
Helping along the way, Dragon put up some points of his own with a 10th place finish in the 500 freestyle and 18th in the 200 freestyle.
James (J.R.) Zlogar – Belchertown
Only qualifying for one of his individual events, Zlogar made the most of his opportunity, coming away with the second spot in the 100 butterfly.
Ryan Shea – Belchertown
Shea rounded out Belchertown’s impressive season with a second-place finish in the 50 freestyle, along with coming in 12th in the 100 breaststroke.
Ibrahim Salloum – Holyoke
Salloum was the only Purple Knight to qualify for an individual event at states, competing in one of his specialties, the 100 butterfly.
Mazen Abdul-Knerr – Northampton
The Blue Devils had two swimmers of their own at states, with Mazen Abdul-Knerr taking 19th place in the 200 IM and 25th in the 100 backstroke.
Taj Abdul-Knerr – Northampton
Making the trip with his brother, Taj Abdul-Knerr appeared in just one event, walking away with 26th in the 500 freestyle.
Liam Bliss – Turners Falls
Bliss filled multiple roles for the Thunder as the senior specialized in freestyle and breaststroke events. Bliss took 10th at states in the 50 free.
Honorable mentions: Lloyd Schattin (Amherst), Jackson Tease (Amherst), Jameson Derouin (Belchertown), Filip Malejko (Belchertown), Ben Smolinski (Belchertown), Steven Plotniak (Holyoke), Adrian Gutierrez-Martinez (Holyoke), Jared Lapite (Holyoke), Cole Mattison-Gulotta (Northampton); Rinchen Monlam (Northampton).
