It’s going to be a learning year for the Newburgh Free Academy boys’ swimming team.

The Goldbacks finished fifth at last year’s Section 9 championships, having lost one key swimmer from last year’s team: Michael Abrams.

Much of the team is expected back this year, starting with Jack Mummery and Peyton Tuttle.
Mummery had one of the Goldbacks’ best finishes last year, taking fifth in the 200-yard freestyle at the Section 9 championships, and seventh in the 100-yard freestyle.

He was also part of two top 8 relay teams.

Tuttle, meanwhile, had the Goldbacks’ best single individual finish at sections, taking fourth in the 500-yard freestyle. He was also sixth in the 100-yard backstroke.

They are the Goldbacks’ top returning swimmers and they’re both sophomores, leaving much room for improvement, not only this season but in two seasons beyond.

They’ll be joined by key newcomers Drake Burns and Tyler Rausenberger, both seventh graders.

The Goldbacks will enter the season with one goal, according to 11th-year coach Zach Williams: get better every meet, and “learn to compete like NFA swimmers.”

Learning how to compete like an NFA swimmer goes back to when Williams, himself, was a Goldback swimmer. It emphasizes swimming their best during the post-season, specifically the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association and Section 9 championships in February.

The Goldbacks are a team built to develop as their roster only has four seniors: Jackson Gerbes, Ayden Ortega, Victor Speedling and Theo Pollick.

The rest of the team ranges from juniors to the two seventh graders.

“This is a good group that is learning how to train and practice,” Williams said. “It’s exciting.”