A red and gold hallway filled with posters, streamers and flags honored the swimmers who are part of the Class of 2026. Fans filled the bleachers and even stood shoulder to shoulder alongside the pool desk with glowing smiles while holding flowers.
The Raiders went up against the East Brunswick Bears on Jan. 8 at the Hillsborough YMCA. The girls team won 113-57 and the boys team won 111-59, keeping their win streaks alive. Both teams pulled far ahead of the competition this season. On Feb. 11 the boys took the NJSIAA Group A Tournament sectional title against West Windsor-Plainsboro South High School, beating them 112-58.
As the races commenced; senior Dylan Briones, junior Emily Sudol, freshman Olivia Kay and sophomore Marielle Colipano swam alongside other Hillsborough and East Brunswick students in the girls 200-yard medley race. This group in particular had pulled ahead of the other racers, each swimmer giving it their best effort. A time of 1:51.27 illuminated on the scoreboard, five seconds quicker than the other lanes.
“Being my senior year, the season definitely feels different,” Briones said. “There is a greater sense of appreciation for every meet and every moment with the team, since I know these moments won’t last forever.”
Water splashed out of the pool and powerful chants echoed from teammates. The boys team followed with their 200-meadly race. Juniors Josh Cetin and Luke Sudol, and seniors Gavin Grouser and Tiago Granados came in first at 1:41.08. The order consisted of the first swimmer doing backstroke, then another followed with breaststroke, next was butterfly, and ended off with freestyle.
“I listen to music to hype me up and watch videos of my previous races in the hours leading up to my race,” Cetin said.
In the 50-yard freestyle, Hillsborough swimmers Kay and Granados came up on top gliding through the water seamlessly. Kay secured the fastest time 25.20 for the girls team and Granados followed with an impressive 22.27 for the boys. These achievements kept the momentum for the meet moving in the Raiders favor.
The 500-yard freestyle requires a swimmer that has the proper training and the endurance to be able to achieve a good time 20 laps later. For the girls team, Junior Emily Sudol completed the event with the fastest time of 5:21.90. Senior John Eodice set himself apart from the competition by swimming a 4:54.33, leaving the rest of the swimmers to catch up. The events went on and Hillsborough took the majority of fastest times and won the overall meet.
“Swimming is special to me because I get to swim with all my friends and cheer them on,” senior Tammy Leng said.
The world of swim has been on the rise with some really strong and promising athletes this season. Several swimmers specialize in sprints, distance and medley. At Hillsborough, the boys and girls varsity teams are ranked one of the top schools for the overall 2025-2026 Skyland Conference. Their season wrapped up with the Raiders attending the 2026 NJSIAA Meet of Championships on Feb. 28 to Mar. 1 and having 11 podium finishers in different events. Final season records stand at 10-2 for the boys and 9-1 for the girls.
