The Atoms had five state qualifiers this season: seniors James Chilton and Melanie Decareau, along with freshman Sammie Decareau, CC Corbett, and Delany Spencer. Chilton swam individually at state, competing in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle on the 21st while the other qualifiers competed in a relay and went on to break a school record in the 200 freestyle relay.
Senior swimmer James Chilton concluded his high school career with a state swim meet in Richmond. Chilton has qualified for the state meet three years in a row and he is committed to swim at Rider College, a D1 university in New Jersey next year.
“I made states three years in a row, which took a lot of hard work, determination, and practice,” Chilton said.
The girls finished the season with a record of 5-2, and the boys closed out their season with a 6-1 record. Overall, the Atoms are quite pleased with their achievements. Both teams showed great promise and everyone is already looking forward to next year’s swim season.
On the hardwood, boys basketball had high hopes coming into the season but ultimately fell short of those goals. The squad finished with an overall record of 10-15 and finished 5th in the district with a record of 7-7.
“The season didn’t go as expected because I thought that we would be at the top of the district, but things didn’t work out that way,” senior Nathan Pewett said.
While the Atoms may not have lived up to their pre-season expectations, the boys played some great games and created lasting memories.
“The best game this season was at the tournament at North Carolina because we had a lot of fun while winning games,” Pewett said.
As a sophomore, Pewett had the opportunity to play varsity with his older brother, Jeff, and this season he had the chance to play with younger brother:
“My favorite moment this season was watching my little brother, Michael Pewett, score his first varsity points,” he said.
Another winter sport is indoor track, which is often overlooked compared to other winter sports typically because of the outdoor practices throughout cold winters and difficult workouts. Some athletes such as sophomore Obed Acquah endure these conditions and strive to succeed on the track.
“The season helped me develop both physically and mentally, and it set a strong foundation for the outdoor [spring] season,” Acquah said. “I set a personal record every single meet this season, which shows that I was consistently improving throughout the season.”
Acquah competed throughout the season at district meets as well as travelling with the squad to competitive invitationals and the district meet
at the end of the season. Acquah’s season was phenomenal and brought many memories and records for him, and senior Jeremiah Nelson’s season was phenomenal as well.
Nelson competed on Monday in the high jump at the state meet on March 2, with this being his third time qualifying for the state meet. Nelson will also likely compete at the Adidas Nationals Meet in the high jump on a future date, like he has the past three years.
On the mats, the wrestling team rose to new heights this season with fantastic finishes from many of their athletes.
The Atoms grapplers had two district champions: senior Junior Vera Puna and senior Ana Jenson. Jenson and junior wrestler Darling Saravia competed at the state tournament.
Saravia was the runner up at the state tournament in her weight class. Saravia and Jenson have been top competitors for many seasons now and have brought great success to the Atoms wrestling team.
“I made mistakes here and there but I’m human, what can I say?” Jenson said., “I’m proud that I ended with a district title, qualified for states, and had a double positive record.”
Overall, the Atoms’ winter season was successful and brought not only improvement to the athletes but also memories that will surely last.
