The Sussex Academy boys and girls swim teams gathered recently to celebrate a historic and highly successful season during their annual end-of-year banquet at King’s Creek Country Club in Rehoboth Beach, recognizing team accomplishments, record-breaking performances and individual award winners.

The evening highlighted a remarkable season for both programs. The Sussex Academy girls team captured the Henlopen Conference Championship and the Conference Southern Division title, while finishing 6th overall at the DIAA State Championships. The girls celebrated with a team photo and balloons marking 63 straight dual-meet wins.

The boys team also celebrated as they claimed the Henlopen Conference Southern Division title and a 10th place finish at the state championships.

In addition to athletic success in the pool, the team demonstrated strong support for its program with a banner fundraising year. The team’s top fundraisers were recognized with Kendall Rhodes, Christian Wright and Kaleb Siok taking home prizes.

The evening continued as all team members were recognized with certificates, while first-time varsity athletes received their varsity letter and the team captains were honored.

The banquet also was a chance to tout an extraordinary year of record-breaking performances. Eleven of the program’s 22 team records were broken this season. On the girls’ side, Victoria Evans set a new record in the 100 backstroke, while Anna Mumford established a new mark in the 100 freestyle. The girls 200 medley relay team also set a new program record.

The boys team set the pool on fire this season setting a new record in eight of the 11 events in which the team competes. Christian Wright set new records in the 50,100 and 200 freestyle events. Angel Figueroa broke the 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly records, while Michael Whitaker set a new record in the 100 backstroke. The boys’ 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay teams also established new program records.

Several swimmers were also recognized for their All-Henlopen Conference honors.
For the girl’s team, Eliza Evans, Camila Figueroa, Samantha Petty, Emi Obertubbesing, and Kendall Rhodes were named Second Team All-Conference, while Victoria Evans, Caitlin Perchiniak, Gretchen Maughan, and Anna Mumford earned First Team All-Conference recognition.

For the boy’s team, Jackson Proctor received Honorable Mention, Cale Argo was named Second Team All-Conference, and Edward Hale, Angel Figueroa, Michael Whitaker, and Christian Wright were selected to the First Team.

At the state level, several Seahawks were also recognized with All-State honors. Victoria Evans earned Honorable Mention, Gretchen Maughan was named Second Team All-State, and Anna Mumford received First Team All-State recognition. On the boy’s side, Christian Wright was selected as Second Team All-State.

The team also honored its 10 graduating seniors who helped lead the program this season:
Enrique Carbajal Cifuentes, Victoria Evans, Angel Figueroa, Doug Klientop, Kimi Langroudi, Sarah Lester-Stranick, Emi Obertubbesing, Kieran Probert, Sebastian Scruggs, and Christian Wright were all recognized for their leadership and roles on the squad.

The evening wrapped up with a number of swimmers being recognized with special team awards for their contributions throughout the season.

Coach Guy Gosselin and Coach Nico Caceres spoke to the first-year swimmers and mentioned each one and their improvements. They also awarded the Most Improved Swimmer award. The honors went to Adahuri Ortiz Dionicio for the girls and Damian Lucero-Sandoval for the boys.

They also presented the Rookie of the Year awards to Eliza Evans (girls) and Cale Argo (boys).
Coach Stephanie Hartsoe and Head Coach Tom Martiner presented the remaining awards. The Sportsmanship Awards were given to Nolan Furlong for the boys and Kendall Rhodes and Camila Figueroa, who were co-recipients for the girl’s team.

The Coach’s Awards were presented to Christian Wright (boys) and Victoria Evans (girls). The coaches commented on their desire to go above and beyond for the program.

The evening concluded with the presentation of the Team Most Valuable Player Awards, which were awarded to Anna Mumford for the girls and Angel Figueroa for the boys. Both were previous MVP recipients and Martiner commented on their impact, ability and leadership.

“When we started this banquet years ago it was a pot-luck dinner and we dreamed of having just a handful of award recipients,” said Martiner. “Now look at us. A filled banquet room with a team of over 40 swimmers, 15 All-Conference honorees and four All-State swimmers. With so many great kids we struggle to pick award winners. I am grateful for how far we have come and am excited to see the future of Sussex Academy swimming.”

The program also extended a special thank you to the coaching staff for their dedication throughout the season as Coach Martiner, Coach Hartsoe, Coach Caceres and Coach Gosselin were recognized. Like the players, each coach received a gift bag that included custom socks with Coach Martiner’s face, a gift he described as “the best gift ever.”

The event also made sure to thank the many parent volunteers and supporters who helped make the season successful.

Although the banquet marked the conclusion of a memorable season, the Seahawks will not be away from the pool for too long. Sussex Academy swimming returns to practice in just seven months, as the program looks ahead to building on another outstanding year.