Coming off a strong season with the girls’ swim and dive program, swim Head Coach Jackie Rank is hoping the boys will accomplish the same feats this winter. Five divers and 38 swimmers will be in the pool for Oxford this season, and Rank is hopeful that her young team will make an impact this year and beyond.

With one win already under their belts from their Dec. 6 meet against Royal Oak, it looks like that just might be possible.

“The exciting thing this season is that the bulk of our power is going to be freshmen and sophomores,” Rank said.

The squad’s sole returning diver, junior Evan Covert, is expected to be a standout on the diving end this winter. Swimmers sophomore Zach Beatty, junior Carter Pollard, sophomore Cole Bukoski and sophomore Nolan Mayare also expected to lead theteam’s efforts as they work toward the post season.

The team is being captained by Pollard, senior John Bagans, junior Cameron Mumbrue and senior Alex Olheiser.

Aside from the returners, Rank also thinks incoming freshmen Carson Wolf and Nathaniel Johnston are showing a lot of potential after just a few practices.

As always, Rank said the boys’ goal is to do well in their league and have a few faces show up at the state finals in March. But, especially with a lot of first-time competitive swimmers, Rank said she also wants to see the athletes steadily improve in their own ways throughout the season, which will benefit the team down the road.

“I really just want to see them progressing throughout the season,” she said. “You want to see that improvement, and I think a lot of that comes down to team unity. You want them to have fun, you want them to feel like family. You want an upward trend for the beginning of the season through the end.”

In their first meet of the season on Dec. 6, the boys took on Royal Oak and won with a massive margin, 123-63. Throughout the meet, Oxford took first in 11 of the 12 events. As Rank predicted before the meet, the team’s underclassmen brought the heat.

Freshman Carson Wolf picked up two wins in his first high school meet in the 200 Freestyle and 100 Butterfly. He swam times of 1:51.35 and 56.75, respectively. Another freshman, Nathaniel Johnston, also started his high school career strong with two wins. He took first in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:13.87 and in the 500 Freestyle with a time of 5:18.97.

Other wins in the individual events included sophomore Zach Beatty in the 50 Freestyle and the 100 Freestyle, sophomore Nolan May in the 100 Backstroke and sophomore Ben Datsko in the 100 Breaststroke.

In the relays, Oxford claimed wins in the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays. In the 200, Datsko, Wolf, sophomore Cole Bukoski and junior Carter Pollard claimed the victory with a time of 1:38.60. In the 400, Wolf, Johnston, Beatty and May swam a time of 3:37.02 to secure a win.

In the diving event, sophomore Evan Covert picked up third with a score of 132.65.

“It was a great starting point for the boys and gave them a taste of the success we plan to see all season,” Rank said.

The team unfortunately lost senior and captain JJ Bagans during the meet to a shoulder dislocation for what Rank said is “the foreseeable future.”

Rank was thankful the injury did not result in any permanent damage. “It was in interesting, emotional night,” she said.

The boys will be back in the pool tomorrow, Dec. 13, when they travel to Rochester High School.