October 30–November 1, 2025 | Northville High School

The Canton Girls Swim & Dive team delivered an outstanding performance at the Mustang Invitational, hosted by Northville High School. Competing against several strong programs, the Cobras showcased depth, improvement, and team unity across all events. Nearly every swimmer recorded personal or season-best times, a testament to the team’s hard work as these girls finished off their championship season.

Canton opened the meet with solid relay efforts that set the tone for the day. The 200 Medley Relay team of Emma Flynn, Peyton Szopko, Kaliyah McElroy, and Cataleya McCauley posted a strong time of 2:22.24, while the 400 Free Relay squad of Laureli Claerr, Emma Edwards, Szopko, and McElroy clocked 4:45.31 with consistent splits throughout. The 200 Free Relay group of Vasmitha Karthikeyan, McCauley, Valentina Raoof, and Samaara Khan added another dependable effort, finishing in 2:09.27.

In individual events, the Cobras saw remarkable time drops across multiple races. Senior Peyton Szopko led the way with two lifetime bests, swimming 1:04.66 in the 100 Free and 1:23.98 in the 100 Breast—both significant improvements from earlier in the season. Fellow senior Felecia Ferracciolo also had a breakout meet, dropping more than 25 seconds in the 500 Free (7:38.61) and seven seconds in the 100 Breast (1:43.51).

Junior Emma Edwards showed tremendous progress with a 3-second drop in the 100 Free (1:06.75) and a stunning 9-second improvement in the 100 Back (1:24.40). Senior Captain Emma Flynn swam a strong 200 IM (2:59.30), trimming time from her previous best, and contributed to the medley and freestyle relays. Freshman Zoey Macklem continued to establish herself as a key distance swimmer, finishing 3rd overall in the 500 Free with a lifetime best of 7:06.07 and dropping six seconds in the 200 Free (2:37.90). Sophomore Brynn Sturdy also had a major breakthrough, cutting 44 seconds from her 500 Free best to finish in 7:55.55.

In sprint events, Kaliyah McElroy was a standout performer, matching her 50 Free best with a 28.60 and dropping over two seconds in the 100 Free to finish in 1:05.76. Junior Laureli Claerr delivered a strong swim in the 200 Free with a five-second drop (2:46.71), while freshman Nadia Doci continued her steady improvement, lowering her 100 Free time to 1:22.55. Valentina Raoof turned in one of the biggest time drops of the day, cutting 13 seconds off her 100 Breast best to finish in 1:42.83.

Freshmen Imoen Stop and Navya Rathor each posted personal records in the breaststroke, while Samaara Khan notched lifetime bests in both the 200 IM (3:14.49) and 100 Fly (1:30.32). Vasmitha Karthikeyan maintained strong consistency in both the 200 Free (2:45.23) and 100 Breast (1:41.72), and Ananya Gautam, Elle Gilles, and Aditi Sankar gained valuable racing experience in their 50 & 100 freestyle events, continuing to build confidence in competition.

Overall, the Mustang Invitational and Novi Dive Invite was a showcase of growth and momentum for these Canton Cobras. With multiple swimmers and dives achieving season- and lifetime-best performances, the meet highlighted the team’s commitment to improvement and the strength of its training base. Several other teammates prepare for the upcoming KLAA Championship meet Nov 6-8 at Brighton High School.