By Brad Spiegel
brad.spiegel@waylandpost.org
During last season’s Division 2 state championship Wayland High School certainly showed its depth. Seven different swimmers contributed to the three winning relays. And while no Warriors individual swimmer took home first place, the team placed enough swimmers to rack up important points. That’s the epitome of depth, and it’s one of the most important components to winning a high school championship.
The title was building as Wayland finished in the runner-up position the previous three seasons — all to rival Weston — while the senior-laden team in 2024-25 had been gaining experience since they were freshmen.
“Last year was a great year after being runner-up (for three seasons),” said longtime coach Mike Foley, whose team had gone undefeated during the regular season. “It was nice to get over the hump and win one with the group of seniors who really worked hard throughout their high school career.”
“We came into last year thinking that we had a shot. And that was the goal. We had a good mixture of kids last year but we didn’t have that one kid who you knew was going to win two events at states. We pride ourselves on having good depth and that ultimately won us that meet.”
While it’s still early — practice just started three weeks ago and the Warriors have been in only two meets — there’s a strong mix of returning members and new faces to compete for the title again.
Back from last year’s squad are seniors Luke Kroncke (a member of last year’s state-winning, 200-yard medley relay and 200-yard freestyle relay, 7th in 100 free, 7th in 50 free); Dave Ryu (2nd in 100 breaststroke); Alex Lu (200 in free relay, 7th in 100 breaststroke); Ben Pyhtila (5th in diving); Nate Oh (11th in diving); and Matt Tan.
“Some of the guys who are returning have been to the state meet and got a lot of experience,” said Foley, now in his 27th season, “I know what to expect from them. We will need them to all be better (if we are going to repeat) but we will have some new seniors and freshmen coming in, too.”
Beyond the swimmers, two areas have allowed Wayland to be in the mix year after year (including four straight championships 2017-20): consistency in coaching and a strong feeder system in town run Jeanne Downs for more than two decades. Both allow Foley and his staff know what to expect from new varsity members as well as not having to explain expectations, drills, and practices to swimmers or the staff.
Since practices and techniques are similar for the Junior Warriors, incoming freshmen know what is coming and are a little more at ease. And if they do need some extra instruction, anyone from the WHS staff can step in and guide new swimmers and veterans alike.
Foley noted that the team’s head assistant coach has been on board since 2003, another coach since 2010, and a third has been part of the staff for 10 years. And, he pointed out, three on the staff were swimmers he coached at Wayland.
“Everyone coming in knows what practices or the coaches are like,” Foley added. “We are already on the same page once the season starts. The consistency of the coaching staff has added to the success of the program.”
Having a community pool where the team can practice and host meets — many schools have to travel to a pool and schedule during odd hours to fit into a pool’s schedule — has also contributed to the comfort of the entire Wayland program.
Girls look to get back into contention
The girls’ swim team may not have enjoyed a season like the boys, but a sixth-place finish in the state meet and an undefeated regular season campaign are nothing to sneeze at. Of course, having finished atop the Division 2 state championship standings in 2019 and every year from 2006-14 except a runner-up showing in 2011, expectations are always going to be high.
“Depth has always been our strength. We keep coming at you in dual meets,” Foley said. “We had our share of strong swimmers and divers (last year). We want to be relevant and the girls continue to be year after year.”
Expected to lead the way again in 2025-26 is Cara Hill. As a junior, she was a part of the fourth-place 200-yard medley and sixth-place 400-yard freestyle relays, as well as an 11th place in the 100 freestyle and third in the 100 backstroke.
Junior Nat Greenaway (200 medley relay), senior Sona Abramhamyan (400 freestyle relay), sophomore Izzy Irwin (sixth in diving), senior Katherine Tan (11th in diving), and senior Audrey Larson also participated in the state meet and should improve on their finishes.
“We definitely have some holes to fill, but I think some of our young talent will help out,” Foley said. “This is a good group that seems to like to have a lot of fun, and that’s our first goal. They work hard but have fun while doing it.”
