By Ryan O’connor 

Last year, the Goffstown High School swimming season ended on a negative when the team’s head coach left before the season concluded.

Recognizing a discouraged bunch headed into the current season, first-year coach Matt Hammond was determined to maintain a positive attitude throughout the year.

Those in the pool made it easy for him.

“The one thing I can say about our team this year is that every single member of the team started at a point lower than they are at now,” said Hammond.

“If anybody asked me, ‘How was the team this year?’ I would honestly say each and every swimmer gave their all.”

Though the majority of those on the team are developmental swimmers, the coach said nearly every athlete has met or exceeded expectations.

“Pretty much every swim has been a personal best, so it shows they’re continuously getting better,” he said.

The trend is expected to continue at the state swimming championships, which take place Saturday, Feb. 9, at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

The Grizzlies send seven girls and four boys to the meet.

Competing in the boys 200 freestyle relay and 200 medley relay are Zach Smith, Christopher Belanger, Matthew Edmonds and Nicholas Abut.

Both squads, said Hammond, are expected to finish in the top 25.

The girls’ three relay teams, competing in the 200 freestlye, 200 medley and 400 medley, and are all virtual locks for strong finishes, said Hammond.

Depending on external scheduling conflicts and other such factors, the girls relay teams will consist of four of the following: Katelyn Comeau, Lindsay Comeau, Alexandria Turcotte, Jillian Turcotte, Andrea Cashin and Tiffany Walton.

A top-25 guarantee for each of the relay squads is saying a lot, Hammond added, because they started the year trying to break the top 50.

Those competing individually include Smith for the boys, and Sinea Johnson and Jillian Turcotte for the girls.

Smith qualified for the 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly; Johnson made the state cut in the 200 free and 500 free; and Turcotte competes in the 50 free and 100 backstroke.

Johnson is a top-eight seed in both events and Hammond said he would be surprised if she didn’t finish higher, as she recently beat the times in which she was entered to the state meet.

“The rest of team has been very supportive of those competing (at states). In fact, I was impressed with the dedication of all the team this year,” said Hammond. “Even (at a recent practice), when the season is over and only 12 kids are moving on, I still had something like 20 of 24 kids show up.”

“This was a year when a lot of graduating seniors who were sort of powerhouses left last year, so there were some big shoes to fill and I think this relatively small team accomplished that,” he continued. “Next year, and the year after, you’ll be hearing about this team a lot more.”