The newly formed New Milford/Dumont High School swim team ended their inaugural season on a victorious note. At the February 4 League Championships at Lyndhurst High School, the girls team soared to first place, swimming against seven other area high schools. The boys team placed third, a spectacular feat as the team only had a total of six swimmers to compete.

During the championships, two meet records were achieved by sophomore Chris Wang (NM) and freshman Jeanarsy Pena (D). In Recognition of outstanding coaching ability, Coach Hayley Barton was chosen as North Jersey Coach of the Year.

The swim team is the result of many months of planning and preparation by the schools, the students and their families. Although student athletes had expressed a great deal of interest in establishing a swim team, neither NMHS or Dumont High School had the finances available in their athletic budgets to form a team. So, New Milford High School and Dumont High School successfully formed a partnership to create a new high school swim team.  

New Milford/Dumont High School Swim Team would like to extend a very special thank you to Colleen M. Fisco of RE/MAX Integrity in Dumont, who generously donated the team swim suits, swim caps, and warm ups suits. Without Ms. Fisco’s exceptional generosity, the New Milford/Dumont High School Swim Team would not have achieved the financial goal it had to attain in order to begin its first season.

The swim team would like thank the following corporations for their much appreciated donations: The Nelson-Patterson Agency, New Milford; Hudson City Savings Bank, New Milford; The NMHS Athletic Booster Association; French Funeral Home, Dumont; Cuban Eddies, Dumont; Prime Seafood Importers, Dumont; Dick O’Connor Real Estate, Dumont; and On the Boarder Restaurant in Paramus. 

The swim team would also like to offer special thanks to the Barton and Kallert families of New Milford. With additional financial support from swim team parents, resourceful fundraising from the student athletes and enthusiastic guidance from NMHS Athletic Director Joe Ricciardelli, a team was formed; a team that made a big splash as county contenders in their first year.