Young Swim Team Making Strides

By Kevin Eickman

Milford takes Caesar Rodney in swim meet

On the surface, the Milford home swim meet Dec. 18 against Caesar Rodney – with the Rodney girls winning 132-19.5 and the boys winning 128-55 – wasn’t close.

But you wouldn’t have guessed the score by the enthusiasm of the Milford squad as they continued to cheer on and encourage each other to do their best.

In what was the final race of a 22-race meet, Milford faced another defeat against a powerful boys team that brought 20 swimmers vs. just 10 for Milford. Facing two teams in the relay, eighth grader Chase Maloney put in a strong third leg and cut the gap to second by less than a quarter of the pool.

Realizing they had a chance, the rest of the Milford team rooted on junior anchor Levi Massotti as he  relentlessly chased down his opponent as the cheers grew louder. By the time they reached the final half length of the pool, they were almost even. With one final push, Massotti got past his opponent and touched the pad for second place.

While it may appear to be only a moral victory, Milford coach Leia Dypsky knew it was much more than that.

“Usually you can’t measure heart, but that final race demonstrated what this team is all about. Heart.”

With no seniors on either the boys or girls team, Dypsky is very excited about what lies ahead for her squad.

“These are some talented but raw swimmers. They are very dedicated and very positive about what they can accomplish,” she said. “With every practice and every meet, we are improving. We are getting technically better and that is going to show down the road.”

Milford has yet to have any State Meet qualifiers, but that should change as the season goes forward. Massotti and sophomore Erick Barczewski are knocking on the door of qualifying times in multiple events

“They are very close right now and I would anticipate by the end of the year they will be qualifiers,” Dypsky said.

When asked about the small size of her squad, Dypsky said, “We have a group of athletes that love being here, working and having fun at the same time. This is a very close group both in and out of the pool, which I love. While it would be nice to have more swimmers, we aren’t feeling sorry for ourselves. We are embracing the challenge.”

Dypsky said Massotti and girls captain junior Madison Stahl “are very focused and care deeply about the team. That is what you look for in leadership.”