Coming into the season, Emmaus coach Tim O’Connor knew there was a lot of work to do with his young team. Both the boys and girls teams have made it through their first six dual meets with perfect records intact, with the latest win coming over Northampton.

“It’s been a lot of teaching, a lot of educating and a lot of moments of letting them know how I want things done,” said O’Connor. “My goal each week is to have to talk to less and less of them as we progress. I know everybody is capable, which is good, now, we’re just looking forward at the end of January and getting into championship season as they all start getting on board.”

February will bring with it the annual rivalry meet against Parkland, which will likely decide the EPC Championship. Of course, districts and states follow that, but for now, it’s about getting swimmers to understand what they need to do to make themselves better and what’s going to help them to reach district qualifying times.

“I’m still looking for more progress on the boys side to show that they’re learning; I’ve got a lot of kids getting close and they’re looking at times and getting better,” O’Connor said. “On the girls side, I have freshmen in Katie [Champagne], Chelsea [Gravereaux] and Abby [Heilenman], who are doing a great job as freshmen and getting district times very quickly.”

One of the new faces who is garnering attention Gravereaux, who O’Connor loves for her diversity, but who also admits that the 100 freestyle is where she hopes to excel during her high school career. Gravereaux’s emergence has been good enough that she’s starting to draw some comparisons with Parkland’s Siena Salvaggio, who just happens to be the state champion in the 100 freestyle and one of the strongest swimmers to come through the Lehigh Valley.

At the recent New Year’s Invitational at Bucknell University, Gravereaux finished just under two seconds behind Salvaggio in the 100, finishing third to Salvaggio’s first place time. In the 400 freestyle relay, Salvaggio and Gravereaux both swam the first leg of the event for their teams, with Gravereaux’s first 50 yards falling just three tenths of a second slower and she was again under two-seconds behind the senior Salvaggio over 100 yards.

Gravereaux is well aware of just how good Salvaggio is and is flattered by the comparisons that some are starting to draw between the two.

“That’s amazing,” she said. “I’ve raced against her a couple of times and it’s a lot of fun, because she is number one in the state, so to be close to her is just amazing,” said the Emmaus freshman. “It feels great, especially to know that I have three more years ahead of me. I’m very excited. The seniors are really nice and they’re really good role models.”

O’Connor is also well aware of Salvaggio’s talents and sees parallels in how his swimmer is progressing, compared to the state champion.

“I’ve known Siena for a very, very long time and I’ve seen how far she’s come,” said O’Connor. “When I look at Chelsea and I look at where Siena was at this point in her career, it’s easy to say ‘yes, you’re on this trajectory.’ There’s a lot of work between now and then, but what I’ve seen in Chelsea is that she’s got a great work ethic and more importantly, she’s got a great demeanor.

“I’m really enjoying challenging her to reach her potential and yet not overwhelm her. She’s a very quiet competitor and it’s really quite startling when you see her race against these state champion quality competitors and she’s racing them like a tiger, but the Chelsea I know on the pool deck is just so much different, and I love that.”

Gravereaux, who has been swimming year round since she was 11, seems to be taking her early success in stride and just wants to continue building on the success to make herself better down the road. For her, the hard work is made easier by her intense love for the sport.

“I’m pretty happy with where I stand right now,” said Gravereaux. “I just love being in the water. It’s my happy place.”