Written By: Richie Adenau '27

Published On: 9/16/26

After years of early mornings, long practices, and countless races, Saint Joseph High School senior Braden Michaels ‘27 is ready to take the next step in his swimming career after officially committing to Loyola University.  

Michaels was drawn to the campus and location and impressed by the coaches and the university’s business program.  “I felt like it was a place where I could see myself for the next four years,” Michaels said.  “I felt like it was a great fit for me both academically and athletically.”  

Michaels has made his mark at Saint Joe’s, holding the school record in the 100 backstroke, with a time of 51.6 seconds in the 2025-26 season.  He also earned first-place finishes in the 100 butterfly, 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle, and several relay events.

His dream of competing in college began to take shape during his freshman year, when he qualified for Nationals.  “That was probably the first time I realized how far I could actually take swimming,” Michaels said.  “It made me want to keep getting better and eventually compete at the college level.”

Since then, his time with the Falcons has helped him to develop both in and out of the pool.  He learned that even though swimming can feel like an individual sport, every performance contributes to the team's success.  He also credits his coaches with helping him improve his strokes.

At Loyola, Michaels hopes to continue improving every season and contribute as much as possible to his new team.  His biggest goal is to qualify for the NCAA Championships.  “I’m definitely most excited to swim and lift at a high level and see how much I can improve in college,” Michaels said.

Michaels credits his parents, family, coaches, Loyola’s coaching staff, and God for helping him reach this point.  Now, he looks forward to finishing his Saint Joseph High School career and beginning the next chapter at Loyola.  

By: Eric Kautz

The Saint Joseph's Metuchen Swimming team finished their season 7-0 and claimed the GMC championship as well as their division. In the most recent rankings from nj.com the Falcons were ranked the 7th best team in the state. 

In their own respective individual races, Anthony Vasilov ‘26, Reid Stellatella ‘26, and Braden Michaels ‘27 finished in first place. Stellatella recently announced his commitment to continue swimming at Grand Valley State University. In their own respective races, second-place finishers for the Falcons included, once again, Stellatella, Michaels, and Vasilov in other races, as well as Neil Sethi ‘28. 

In the relays, Saint Joe's took first place in the 200 medley relay with Michaels, Joseph Guadagnino ‘27, Justin Trivino ‘26, and Dylan Mora ‘28. In the 200 free relay, a team of Mora, Stellatella, Vasilov, and Robert Noble ‘26 took first place. The icing on the cake was the Saint Joe's meet record-breaking 400 free relay with Noble, Stellatella, Vasilov, and Michaels, and a time of 3:12. 

In the phenomenal season, the Falcons took down the state's top talent, including ninth-ranked Pingry, 10th-ranked Saint Peter's Prep, and 11th-ranked Scotch Plains-Fanwood. 

In the NJSIAA Non-Public North State Tournament, the Falcons placed as the two seed and will have a double bye. They will first compete in the semifinal round on Tuesday, February 10th, facing either Delbarton, Don Bosco, or Oratory, looking to keep their undefeated season alive and claim the state title. 

By Joseph Guadanigno '27

The St. Joe’s swim team recently traveled to the Neptune Aquatic Center for the NJSIAA Non-Public North Sectional State Championship. The Falcons swam the Pingry Big Blue for the title in the afternoon of Monday, February 17th. After a hard fought battle, unfortunately, the Falcons came up short in a close meet with the final score of 89-81 in favor of The Pingry School.

Despite the outcome, the team still had some very impressive swims. Braden Michaels ‘27 got first place in both of his individual events, the 100 yd Butterfly and the 100 yd Backstroke. Anthony Vasilov ‘26 also came in first for the 100 yd Freestyle. The Falcons won two out of the three relays throughout the meet, the 200 yd freestyle relay and the 400 yd freestyle relay. Although only getting first place in three individual events, getting second and third place in the 200 yd freestyle and the 100 yd breaststroke helped keep the falcons in the fight.

Although the season ended for the falcons swim team so close to glory, making it to the sectional state finals while beating multiple top 10 state ranked teams throughout the season was no easy challenge. The extremely successful season puts the falcons in a great position for the 2025-2026 season.