DLN boys swimming preview: Conestoga, Malvern Prep lead talented Chesco pool

Conestoga — which finished seventh at the PIAA Class 3A state boys’ swimming championships and placed second to North Penn at the District 1 3A meet last winter — and perennial power Malvern Prep lead a talented pool of Chester County boys swimmers this winter. Another swimmer to watch this season is Kennett senior Liam Simmons, the 2021 Daily Local News Boys Swimmer of the Year.
Here’s a look at the Chester County high school boys swimming teams as they kick off the 2021-22 season.
Defending Central League champion Conestoga returns a solid core of swimmers for the 2021-22 season. Top Conestoga swimmers include sophomore Jake Wang (sixth in the 100 breast at States last winter), senior Gary Wang (ninth in 100 fly at States) and seniors Raymond Welgosh, Stephen Graver and Ryan McDonough. All five of these swimmers played a role in Conestoga’s fourth-place finish at States in both the 200 medley relay and 400 free relay.
Other Pioneers to watch include sophomore John Yeniay (butterfly), junior Chris Ivory (breaststroke and IM), junior Noel Park (200 free, 500 free), senior Stanley Kim (butterfly) and senior Jack Semmer (200 free, 500 free).
“I think we will be very competitive in both the Central League and District 1, and our goal is to win the Central League and to make a run at the District 1 title,” said Conestoga head coach Mark Tirone. “We also would like to improve on our seventh-place finish at States. I feel overall we will have a strong and balanced team except for diving, which has been our Achilles heel for the past few years. Hopefully, we have more of a ‘normal’ season this year (post-pandemic).”
Malvern Prep has a number of strong returning performers, highlighted by senior diver Nick Harris, a University of Texas commit. Harris is a two-time All American who finished first last winter on the Easterns Leaderboard by a considerable margin in both the 1 meter 6-dive and 1-meter 11-dive.
Other key returnees are senior Kevin Cary, junior Ben Kutufaris, junior Brady Tierney, senior Alex Hamill and senior Patrick Rooney. Cary posted top seven times on the Eastern Leaderboard in every freestyle event last winter and Kutufaris emerged as a top sprinter as a sophomore.
Other Malvern swimmers to watch are sophomore Davis Woerner, junior Tommy Moul and junior Miles Conn.
“Our team’s leading strengths are that we have depth from our club and non-club athletes,” said Malvern Prep’s new head coach Bethany DeWitt. “Due to the nature of last season, the team is excited to be back in competition this winter and they are looking forward to competing against other teams in person. The biggest challenge for the upcoming season is that we are competing in the Inter-ac where all teams are talented. We are looking forward to being back in competition this winter.”
Kennett is led by senior co-captain Liam Simmons. Last winter, he finished fourth in the boys 100 back (a school-record time of 50.04) and placed ninth in the boys’ 200 IM at the 2021 PIAA Class 3A state championships. At Districts, he was first in the 100 back and second in the 200 IM (1:53.41).
“Liam is one of the most versatile swimmers I have ever worked with in my 27 years of coaching,” said Kennett swimming head coach Cindy Millison. “All of his strokes are well groomed, efficient and fast.”
Other Kennett swimmers to watch include junior Erik Floren-Smith (freestyle, 100 fly), junior Charlie Lesher (50 free, 100 free), versatile sophomore Gabe Summa and senior co-captain Carter Elliott.
“Our best athletes in the pool are also the stronger athletes outside of the pool,” said Millison. “Our biggest challenge this year is lack of lane space for practices. YMCA Covid protocols still restrict the number of athletes we can practice together. Leading strengths: Our team captains are strong leaders and the teams are very motivated and happy to back to a somewhat normal competitive season. We have four divers (boys and girls) this year, which is a big deal. It wuld be a great sendoff if Liam can capture a state champion title in backstroke. Winning the American division would be fun.”
West Chester Henderson is led by senior Dylan Smolders, who last winter placed in the top 11 at States in two individual events – he finished seventh in the boys 200 IM (1:53.22) and was 11th in the boys 500 free (4:39.90). Another key returnee is sophomore Vedant Bedekar (freestyle and backstroke), who was a member of the Warriors’ boys 400 free relay at Districts last winter.
“Our team has a nice blend of veteran talent and leadership on both sides and also a nice group of incoming freshmen which will hopefully add skill and depth,” said West Chester Henderson head coach Jeff Bott. We’re a young team, with 18 underclassmen. As we return to the dual meet schedule, we’re looking forward to seeing how the entire team does in this format.”
For Unionville, Mike Mangan returns to coach the Longhorns after serving as head coach from 2000-2002.
“We were league champions for both the boys and the girls the last time I coached at Unionville, and the team has mentioned they wish to achieve this goal once again,” said Mangan. “What I’ve noticed about this team is that they are focused and goal-oriented while supporting each other and have been very willing to adapt to the changes to swimming competition that have been required due to the pandemic. This is the largest boys’ team I’ve ever coached with 21 swimmers. Altogether, we have 31 returning swimmers (boys and girls) and 12 new freshmen.”
Great Valley is led by senior Leo Hawke (100 free, 200 free), junior Seth Turner (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), freshman Patrick Li (50 free, 100 free, 100 fly), senior Phillip Zhang (100 back, 50 free, 100 breast) and senior Cole Gilfillan (50 free, 100 free).
“We have a talented core group of returning swimmers,” said Great Valley head coach Kyle Turner. “That, coupled with a nice size group of experienced incoming swimmers should make us a strong competitor this season. The team as a whole was eager to get in the water and has been working extremely hard in practice.
“The team is really excited to have a somewhat normal season again. It was not the same without the fans, the cheering, and the competition in the lane next to you last year.”
West Chester East swimmers to watch include junior diver Brendan Ryan, senior Albert McNaull (freestyle, backstroke), junior Gavin Heffernan (freestyle) and sophomore Guiliano Bucciarelli (freestyle, butterfly).
“Our team has good depth,” said West Chester East head coach Beth Carozza. “It will be a challenge for every team in adjusting to swimming in post pandemic, with a regular dual meet schedule.”
Downingtown East swimmers to watch include senior Aidan McElroy (who was part of the Cougars’ 6th-place 200 medley relay team at Districts last winter), sophomore Gabe Carroll (sprint and fly), junior George Liu (sprint and fly), junior Luke Sperling (distance), freshman Matthew DiAddezzio (fly) and sophomore Jack Thompson (breast and free). Top divers include captain Jack Hackett and Mitchell Goldman, both of whom are aiming to go to Districts this winter.
“Our team is hardworking and competitive, but our biggest challenge remains the limited pool availability (due to COVID),” said D-East head coach Gigi Graesser.
Avon Grove swimmers to watch include senior Alex Whitton (distance and free), junior Jacob Texter (distance and free) and freshman Nate Kidder (IM and breast).
Avon Grove head coach Kelly Burk said, “The boys are rebuilding this season, we are lucky this season to have boys that are able to step up and swim a variety of events. We are hoping to have relays qualify for Districts as well as several individuals.”
Coatesville’s key returnees are sophomore Julian Hernandez and juniors James Layden and Joey Wayne.
Coatesville head coach Logan Storm said, “We have a variety of athletes that bring a lot to the table, they’re strong swimmers and it’s going to be a fun season. Our best team strength is camaraderie, everyone works well together. We have a young team – which is a challenge in itself – that has a lot to look forward to while trying to navigate COVID protocol. The main thing I want for the Raider swimmers this year is to grow as athletes, grow as young adults, and have fun.”
Devon Prep will be led by senior captain Liam Sargent, who has qualified for every individual event at the District 12 championships since his freshman year. Last year Sargent finished first in the boys’ 200 free at Districts, which earned him a trip to the PIAA state meet where he was seeded 13th and placed 12th overall (second in Class AA).
The up-and-coming swimmers to watch for Devon Prep are junior Reagan Megow (200 IM, 500 free), junior Gavin Smith (200 IM, 100 free) and sophomore Ronnie Wolfe (100 free, 50 free).
Devon Prep head coach Meg Sargent said, “Our team has 10 high school swimmers, all of whom are very close-knit. Our biggest challenge is the depth of our experience, but that is slowly growing as we enter our fourth year as a team. This winter, we would like to have more swimmers qualify for the District Championship – last year we had three, and for the two years prior, only Liam.”
Oxford features a small squad of only eight swimmers, some of whom are new to the sport.
“Our strength this year is our teamwork,” said Oxford head coach Chrissy Reinard. “The experienced swimmers are taking the novice swimmers under their wing and making them feel welcomed and helping them anyway they can. They have been helping teach strokes, drills, and other swimming skills. The new swimmers have a great amount of potential and are really focused.”
The Hornets feature a couple of strong returning swimmers in junior Alex Karahalis, who finished seventh in the 100 fly at the PIAA 3A state championships last winter, and senior Ryan Topmiller, a strong swimmer in the 100 breast and 100 fly.
“The camaraderie the team has this year is unparalleled to any we have had in the past,” said Reinard. “Our goals this season are to continue to build on our team camaraderie, grow the program, develop our beginner swimmers, and help our experienced swimmers put up their best times. If we accomplish that we will have a successful and fun season despite our small numbers.”
Downingtown West first-year coach Dan Casey said, “We are still getting to know the athletes but with our senior leadership the team is moving in the right direction. From the talent we see in the pool we are excited for this season. The team’s biggest strength seems to be their commitment to getting better and forging meaningful bonds with each other. The biggest challenge is probably for the coaches, being new we want to be able to put each swimmer in the best position to succeed.”
The Whippets are led by seniors Asa Ernest, Kian Foust, Steven Miller, Brian Patras and Brandon Ye. Underclassmen to wtch include freshman Henry Dennin and sophomore Logan Seiss.