GSB Swimming Set to Make a Splash This Season

After an equally successful and complicated season last school year, the GSB Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming Teams are ready to get back in the pool and make a splash.

The GSB Girls’ Team returns an impressive roster led by senior team captains Sarah “Scooter” Hulsen, Ella Quincy, Maddie Soultanian, Olivia Soultanian, Stephanie Vasquez, and Anne Wang. The Knights also return standout sophomores Margaux Scott, Tahlia Kofman, and Lily Walker, with freshmen Ella Ecko and Juliana Holmes joining the team to strengthen the roster.

The Knights were represented 7 times in last season’s Skyland Conference All-Valley Division Team (1st Team: Tahlia Kofman 100 Butterfly & 400 Free Relay, Maddie Soultanian 100 Backstroke & 400 Free Relay, Margaux Scott 100 Breaststroke & 400 Free Relay, Olivia Soultanian 400 Free Relay; 2nd Team: Sarah "Scooter" Hulsen 200 Medley Relay, Margaux Scott 200 Medley Relay, Tahlia Kofman 200 Medley Relay, Maddie Soultanian 200 Medley Relay, Olivia Soultanian 200 Freestyle & 200 Freestyle Relay, Zoe Lichtenberg 200 Freestyle Relay, Lily Walker 200 Freestyle Relay, Anne Wang 200 Freestyle Relay).

In addition to their conference honors, the team also set two team records over the season as Scott broke the 100-yard Breaststroke record with a time of 1:10.41 while Hulsen, Scott, Kofman, and Soultanian combined to break the 200-yard medley record in 2:00.92.

Head Coach Mike Schaefer and Assistant Coach Donna Bednarsky expect the team to pick up right where they left off and are looking forward to competing in championship meets this season.

“What excites me most about this team is the passion and the competitiveness that these girls have. They’re an extremely talented bunch with a whole lot of speed and versatility in the pool. They’ll do whatever it takes to touch wall first every time.”

It’s an equally exciting time for GSB Boys’ Swimming, who’s season was paused last season due to Covid-19 disruptions. Coach Schaefer is thrilled to welcome back team Captain Ryan Brandl ’22, Nathan Jiang ’25 and Akshay Patel ’23 back to the pool for a chance to compete.

“My aspirations for our boys’ team this season is to consistently drop time,” said Coach Schaefer. “It’s a bit of a rebuilding phase coming from our year off, but we’re ready to build on our times and improve each and every day.”

Both GSB Boys’ and Girls’ Swimming open their seasons on December 2nd in a meet versus Rutgers Prep at the Hillsborough YMCA.