by Cara Farr ‘27

The swim and dive team, with more than 80 members on the team, is the largest team that the school has. In addition to being a popular sport, Sherwood swim has been one of the most successful programs in Montgomery County and in the state of Maryland over the past two decades. For many of those years, the girls team stood out with a wealth of outstanding swimmers. This season, it is the boys team that is primed to make a splash.

Leading the boys are sophomores Nicholas Liberty and Tyler Kominski, who have both recently been selected to be on the USA Swimming’s Academic All American team. Other key contributors are senior captains Justin Lakso and David Mutter, the Opima brothers, and freshman star Mason Maready.
Last year, Liberty took home the regional title in the 500 freestyle event, and he also placed fifth at the state championship for the same event. He then competed in the United States National Open Water Championships, located in Florida, in the spring. He placed second in the race, clinching a spot on the United States National team and earning the opportunity to compete in the World Championships that took place in Italy, in September.

Kominski was a part of the record-setting 200 Freestyle relay team with a time of 1:29.20 that broke the school record that was previously set in 2001. Outside of school, Kominksi is also breaking records in 400 freestyle for the Nation’s Capital Swim Club and Potomac Valley Swimming. One of his biggest accomplishments was, “being able to attend the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.” Komisnski, along with other top swimmers on his team, got to experience where olympians train for the World Championships and the Olympics.

Senior captains Justin Lakso and David Mutter lead a solid group of seniors and are going to be significant contributors to the team’s success this year. According to Head Coach Ryan Burnsky, Lasko has been an impressive sprinter in his four years at Sherwood. Mutter, on the other hand, has the ability to compete in many different events. “We can use him in multiple events and he will score points,” said Burnsky.

The junior class this year is led by the Opima brothers Ayden and Bryce. They are expected to be significant contributors to the team’s success this year in their respectve events. Rounding out the group of juniors are Callum Jaganathan and Caleb Alie, who are strong competitors for the Warriors in both the fly and breast events.

Leading the freshman group of boys are Mason Maready and diver Luke Landreth. Maready is considered an elite backstroker by Burnsky who expects him to contribute significantly to the team this year. Landreth is about as good as they come. “He will immediately be a top contender in diving not only in our Division but in the State,” said Burnsky. Both of these freshmen are expected to make huge impacts on the team for the next four years.

The boy’s team lost lots of talent last year after state champion Brian Wilbur, who is now swimming at the University of Delaware, Mark Williams, Devin Kosirowski, and David Kavtaradze all graduated after setting multiple records. This year, the team will face tough division opponents including Poolesville, with eighteen state championships, Quince Orchard, last year’s runner-up for states, and rival Blair. This means that there will be no easy meets for the boys and every race matters.

“The pressure is on every meet, every race and every second,” Burnsky said. Ultimately, the boys team has their sights set on winning the 4A North Region and hopefully they can also pull through with a huge division win. With multiple big wins against the Quince Orchard Cougars and the Northwest Jaguars, winning 102-77 and 107-78 respectivley, the Warriors are already on track of achieving their goal of division title.