Simsbury Swimmers and Divers Celebrate Successful Season

The last race is over, the judges have scored the final dive, and the Simsbury High School Swim and Dive Team’s 2014-2015 season is in the archives.

It was an up-and-down campaign for the Trojans, but the team finished with a winning 8-7 regular season, had success in the postseason, and celebrated a number of notable accomplishments by individual team members.

At the top of the list is the career-capping performance of star diver Cameron Schoffstall, who went undefeated during the regular season for the third straight year, broke the team record he set last season, and set a new pool record at the Westminster School Swim Center (Simsbury’s home pool).

Cam continued his pursuit of excellence in the postseason, taking the gold medal for the second year in a row in the CCC West Diving Championship and a top-15 finish in the State Open tournament. Cam’s success over the course of his high school career caught the attention of many college coaches, and the senior co-captain will seek to add to his impressive credentials when he joins the Boston University team after graduation.

Sophomore Patrick “PJ” Jackson rounded out Simsbury’s two-man diving team and made a meaningful contribution to its overall success, even qualifying for the postseason.

A handful of contests could have gone either way for the team and came down to the last events. “We had tough meets against Berlin, Newington, Rocky Hill, and Farmington” said head coach Scott Chambers, reflecting on a third-straight winning season. “Some events that should have gone our way simply didn’t, which cost us those meets. The losses hurt us, but the meets were exciting and helped bring the team together even more, so there were also some positives.”

The coach is quick to acknowledge the contributions of his coaching staff and captains throughout the season. “It was a long, cold winter with lots of weather events that interrupted our training and meet schedule. Through it all, Mary Fran (Drakely, who primarily coaches the girls) and Rich (Kowalski, the team’s diving coach) along with senior co-captains Nikki Kowalski, Ana Deacon, and Cam (Schoffstall) did an awesome job of keeping the spirit level of the team high and making sure everybody was focused and headed in the same direction over the course of the whole campaign, from our first practice sessions right up through the postseason,” said Chambers.

The team had various degrees of success in postseason events that included the Splash Classic, the CCC West conference championship, and the State Open. In the Splash Classic, a tournament for girls from Connecticut co-ed teams that swim in the winter season (as opposed to the fall, which is the traditional season for girls swimming in the state), Simsbury landed on the podium with a bronze medal finish.

“It’s tough to make it to the top three at Splash,” said Chambers, “and we had some events in which we had limited or no opportunity to score points, including diving (Simsbury had no girl divers this season) and the 500-yard freestyle, so our strong finish was particularly gratifying.” With regard to the 500-yard freestyle at Splash, the coach makes it a point to single out the performance of freshman Bailee Cota, whose time in the event represented a nearly 20-second improvement over times she achieved earlier in the season. “We didn’t score in the 500, but Bailee showed considerable promise,” he said.

“Mary Fran ran an excellent week of practice to get our girls ready for Splash, and it showed,” said Chambers. “Our relay teams did well, particularly the 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay teams, which both won bronze.” In the individual events, Chambers cites the performances of junior Maxime Braun in the 200-yard individual medley, junior Emily Fritz in the 200-yard medley relay and the 100-yard butterfly, junior Kaitlyn May in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle, Nikki Kowalski in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle relay, and junior Alli May in the 50-yard freestyle, while giving additional credit to Sophomore Annika Hildebrandt for her contribution in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

In the CCC West Conference Championship, Simsbury finished tied for fifth place with Northwest Catholic. In addition to Cam Schoffstall’s victory in diving, the team received a lift from standout junior Sean Russell, who took gold in the 100-yard freestyle and silver in the 50-yard freestyle individual events. Cam and Sean were also named to the CCC West All-Conference Team, a testament to their strong performances for the team all season long.

“The State Open was an excellent meet and really brought out even more competiveness in the team,” said Chambers. “Our swimmers had some of their best times in individual events and split times in relays.” As in the CCC West Championship, Cam and Sean led the charge for Simsbury against some very tough competition, with Schoffstall finishing 13th in diving and Russell notching top-25 finishes in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events. In the qualifying trials for the 500-yard freestyle, freshman Jackson Tully – who was only in the event due to a last-minute scratch – showed how some recent coaching had improved his stroke and shaved 10 seconds from his personal best time.

Among many accomplishments this year, Chambers seems most proud of his team receiving the award for “Sportsmanship Team of the Year” among the 25 teams in the four components of the CCC conference. “This is really an honor, because it comes from the officials,” he said. “It’s an award about character, respect, behavior, as well as sportsmanship – and speaks to the type of team we are.”

“Looking at next season, we’ll have great coverage in lots of events with many returning veterans,” said Chambers, citing Juniors Kaitlyn and Alli May, Max Braun, Emily Fritz, Sean Russell, and Will Pendergast; sophomores Annika Hildebrandt, Corben Braun, Daniel Greenberg, and Graham Clarkson; and freshmen Bailee Cota, Jake Royce, Jimmy Salina, and Jackson Tully as some of the key contributors to the team’s future. “We’re hoping for a strong group of incoming freshmen and could really benefit from some divers moving to town,” said the coach.

Like most teams, the aquatic Trojans have their traditions. The team’s annual Swim-A-Thon is a combination fund raiser and charity event in which team members swim countless laps to maximize pledged amounts from donors. This year’s event brought in more than $3,200, of which $300 became a donation to the Simsbury ABC House. A mid-season bake sale also proved beneficial to the team’s budget.

“We are also quite fortunate to have a great group of parents who like to get involved with the team. They support us in so many ways by helping out at meets, coordinating transportation, opening their houses for team dinners, and in other ways behind the scene. I can’t thank them enough for all they do,” said Chambers.

The team celebrates its winning season for the last time as a unit at the annual banquet and awards ceremony, which takes place on Sunday, March 29. To learn more about the Simsbury High School Swim and Dive Team, visit the team’s website: www.simsburyswimming.com. To see additional photos of the team in action (photo credits: Rich Kowalski), visit the gallery: http://www.simsburysportsimage.com/Sports/Swimming/SHSSwimming-1/2014-2015.

Photos (credit: Rich Kowalski):

1. Kaitlyn May, Nikki Kowalski, Alli May, Annika Hildebrandt, and Max Braun share a team moment at the Splash Classic tournament

2. Sean Russell competes in the CCC West Conference Championship

3. Co-captain Ana Deacon and teammates congratulate Bailee Cota on her momentous 500-yard freestyle at the Splash Classic tournament

4. Co-captain Nikki Kowalski in action against Conard

5. The team celebrates Senior Night at the Westminster School Swim Center

6. Co-captain Cam Schoffstall arcs into the water on his way to victory