Cape Once Again Swims to Another Winning Season

Megan Smith '23 - Editor

Many high schools are not fortunate enough to have swimming programs, but Cape Henlopen High School is not one of them. Over the past few years, Cape’s swimming program has been nearly dominant.

The girls team has been notably exceptional, winning the Henlopen Conference Championship for the last seven years in a row. This year, the girls had a remarkable record of 10-2, only falling to Caesar Rodney and Sussex Academy—each by less than 15 points. Senior Anna Stancofski is one of the captains of the team and has been swimming for four years. She is a huge morale booster among the swimmers, as well as a major contributor of points to the team’s total. “I love everything about and everyone on the team. Everyone is so encouraging toward their teammates,” she said. This year, the girls team lost by a mere two points to Caesar Rodney in a tremendously close meet.

“It was definitely hard not to win the conference meet this year. The team’s previous success at the conference meet made the loss sting even more. We were a young team this year, and the underclassmen are all extremely talented.I know they can bring the title back to Cape next year,” Stancofski stated.

For the boys’ 2020 season, their team had a remarkable 8-4 record. At the Henlopen Conference Championship, they placed fifth behind Caesar Rodney, who claimed the ultimate title of first for both teams.

Junior athlete, Thomas Weeks, is another leader on the team. He typically swims the 500 meter freestyle and backstroke events. This is Weeks’ third season competing on the Cape swim team, and he is never tired of the supportive and exciting environment. “Our Cape team is an awesome group of people that always pushes me to do my best. [It’s] also a lot of fun to be around them and it’s not always about swimming.”

The two teams have grown to create a tight bond after traveling and spending time together at every regular season meet. “The boys team has never really been in the running to win conferences, but it was very disappointing when our girls didn’t win because they are a great and strong group of swimmers,” said Weeks. The two teams have performed impressively, and a sizable portion of this credit should be awarded to Coach Bill Geppert.

Coach Geppert is the current head coach of both teams, a position which he has been serving for the last 22 years. Every win that Cape’s swimming program earned, has been under the coaching of Coach Geppert. “It’s pretty cool that I have been the head coach for all of our teams’ wins in the history of our program.” While in the position, the girls have had 20 consecutive winning seasons and the boys with 21 out of 22 winning seasons, combining for an overall total of 407 wins.

When questioned about retirement, Geppert claimed that he wants to continue the success of the program for around 20 more years. “Honestly, I love coaching swimming, so I hope to do it as long as I can.” Further, Geppert has high hopes to keep up with the current victories by drawing in more talented student athletes in the future.

After coming to a close loss at the Henlopen Conference Championship for 2020, the team sought redemption on February 29 at the Swimming and Diving State Championship located at the University of Delaware Swimming Pool.