The Mt. Hope High School boys' and girls' swim squads enter the 2024-25 season bullish about where the Huskies are overall as a program even as the roster sizes for both teams aren't quite what they once were.

The boys went 4-2 in dual meets last winter, placing third in the Division III regular season ranks behind unbeaten South Kingstown (6-0) and second-place Cranston East.

The Huskies next were nipped by East for the division meet championship title, 379.5 points to 369, only a deduction due to an infraction being the difference in the final tally. SK finished third with 320.

The boys then finished their winter by scoring 53 points in the state meet to place 14th, one spot ahead of the Thunderbolts, who were 15th with 34. SK finished an impressive sixth overall with 132. Hendricken was state champs with 296 points.

The girls went 3-3 in D-III duals to finish fourth in the regular season standings. The Providence Country Day-St. Raphael co-op was first at 6-0.

In the championship meets, the Huskies were fourth again with 247 as the same PCD-SRA squad won the D-III title with 379.
At states, the Knights-Saints were an impressive third (213) behind the champs from Barrington (331.5) and second-place North Kingstown (221). Mt. Hope earned 11 points to place 18th.

As the new season dawns, head coach Kasey Carr and her assistant Adam Dutra believe their teams are on very sound footing.

"Our team identity has definitely shifted over the last few years," said Carr, the long-time leader of the Mt. Hope swim program. "We went from a very large team with nearly all beginners to the smallest team I have coached in the last 13 years, but unequivocally the most talented.

"The boys' team came in as runners-up at our division championships last year. Our only disqualification during the meet was the difference between the win and second place. It stung a bit, and I think the boys are out for revenge. They really want to win it, and I think they have a shot at it.

"The girls look to improve on their fourth place finish. At a state level, both teams would love to continue to creep up the final score standings and have more swimmers in the championship heats of their respective events."

Boys preview
Captains and top returnees junior Finn Pansa (all strokes, free, fly) and senior Cohen Ferreira (breast, IM) lead the Mt. Hope boys' contingent.

Pansa, the lone local male to swim solo at the state meet last winter, placed fifth at states in the 100 fly with a time of 56.23 seconds to earn 14 points for the team and eighth in the 200 free, clocking a 1:53.91 to add another 11 points to the Huskies' tally. Pansa and Ferreira also swam legs of the Mt. Hope 200 free relay that placed 10th (1:42.58).

Carr said "both have great work ethics and are very coachable...Finn will definitely be breaking some of his own school records this season."

Another key contributor to the fold is sophomore Kieran Reidl (breast stroke IM, 200 free), whom Carr said has impressed already in preseason workouts.

She continued of Reidl, "He put in a lot of work in the off season and it was apparent from the first day of practice. We look forward to getting him in some new events for us this year."

In addition, the coach calls sophomore Liam Gagner the team's "utility swimmer," who is quite competent in each of the strokes and can fill in easily throughout the lineup when necessary.

Gagner joined Ferreira and Pansa on the Mt. Hope 400 free relay that placed 11th a year ago at states (3:53.96). Also, Gagner and Ferreira return from the 200 free relay that scored at states, finishing 16th (2:09.96).

Six swimmers are new the fold this winter: junior transfer Sam Coles (sprint free and fly) along with a trio of classmates Max Silva, Jackson Howland, and John Dionne, the latter three of whom are brand new to swimming; freshmen Ben Coles (all strokes, distance free), brother of Sam, and Mac Marston (freestyle).

"We have six new student athletes from a wide range of experience. We are equally excited for all of them who decided to join our team, as wins often come from the depth of our team," said Carr.

Girls' preview
Multi-sport standout Jessica Deal paces the returnees on the girls' side. A fine cross country and track performer, the junior was the lone Mt. Hope female to qualify individually for states last winter. She placed 14th in the 100 free with a time of 1:00.16 and 15th in the 500 free in 6:00.64.

Deal was joined by two other returning standouts, as well, in placing 14th in the 400 free relay. She, now sophomore Hazel Bradley and current junior Bridget Courtney helping the quartet clock a 4:21.32.

Deal again swims the distance and sprint frees along with the butterfly. Of note as well, she serves as team co-captain along with Bradley, who can vie in all strokes.

"Jessica is a standout distance swimmer, but we will certainly be leaning on her to step up in anything we need her to swim," said Carr. "Hazel is one of those rare student-athletes that you will never hear a negative thought or complaint from. We are lucky to have both leading our team this year."

Courtney also swims free along with back and breast and classmate, junior Vivian Goodman, who swims distance free and some breaststroke, and sophomore Emma Quigley (all strokes) also return to the team, providing depth in their events.

And as for the newcomers, they number two as in freshmen Olivia Taylor and Summer Komiega. Of Taylor, Carr said she is the most experienced swimmer to join the girls' ranks in the last 10 years.

"Olivia is very talented and skilled," Carr continued of Taylor. "She's going to swim all the frees (individual and relay), but will contribute in other strokes as well. There is no doubt she will be a standout swimmer not only in our division, but at the state-wide level."

The girls' team, with even fewer participants due to illness, opened up their 2024-25 regular season with a convincing win over Burrillville before the holidays on December 20 at the Smithfield YMCA.

Both teams begin hitting the pool in earnest Friday night, Jan. 3, when, at its recent home base of PODS swim center in East Providence, Mt. Hope hosts the Middletown/Rogers co-op in a regular season dual starting at 7:30.