The swim and dive team had an outstanding season. The program has close to 80 members, but they kept a close knit team. In the regular season, the boys swim and dive team had a 4-1 record and the girls were undefeated with a 5-0 record.
On Feb. 15, the boys and the girls competed in a regional competition. The boys’ relay, which consisted of senior Jordan Kelly, senior Ryan Chen, junior Martin Rodriguez, and senior George Li placed fourth for the 200 yard medley.
Freshman Aidan Wang, who placed second at the 4A3A West Regional Dive Competition, placed second for diving with an outstanding 466.40 points, his personal best. “I felt extremely accomplished after had broke my personal record. It felt good because it was a culmination of hard work and determination.”
In addition, the girls performed exceptionally well. Senior Joy Shi got sixth place in the 200 yard freestyle, and freshman Ashley Woo got sixth place in the 50 yard freestyle.
Due to the performance these athletes put on at regionals, they advanced to the state finals on Feb. 22 for swimming and Feb. 21 for diving. States was held at the University of Maryland College Park and consisted of teams from all over the state.
Regionals only allows for a few people from the boys and girls team to compete, not all 80 members in the program. Most members of the team came out to support them. “I was super nervous for the team but happy for them in the end. Although I personally did not qualify for regionals, it was fun to be there to cheer on and support my teammates,” sophomore Michael Siebert said.
Whether they have are competing, have practice, are in or out of school, the members always have a fun time with each other. “We are a large group but always have fun. We are always there for each other and support each other no matter what. When one teammate falls, we pick them back up, it’s just that simple.” freshman Young Cho said.
One major factor that results in the team’s positive atmosphere is because of a ritual they do Friday nights before every meet, going to Dave and Busters. The team believes it is important to stay close with each other and develop a strong bond because that bond is reflected when they compete, when teamwork and communication is crucial in competitions.
“We play extremely hard, and all the hard work from practice gets translated into our meets. I hope that our hard work will transfer into wins for the team,” sophomore Brandon Wang said.
