It was a bittersweet moment as the seniors made their way through the walkway formed by their devoted team members. Despite it being the last dual meet of their last year, the seniors kept their heads held high as they ran amidst cheers and shouts of recognition. After years of contributing to the team, their time was finally up.
As perfect as it would have been to end the season with a victory, the RM Swim and Dive team came up short and lost to Churchill, 150.5-189.5. However, in no way was this meet a complete failure.
Both boys teams came into the meet undefeated and prepared to win. After an intense battle between the two, the RM boys emerged victorious in a score of 97-72. Not only that, but they finished first in all events except for diving and the 100 yard butterfly; a narrow loss of only 0.06 seconds.
Sophomore Connor Din accomplished another feat for his team. He out touched the Churchill swimmer and was rewarded with not only first place, but a team record in 200 free. “Setting the record for 200 free was actually really surprising,” Din admitted. “I broke my own record from states my freshman year, and it gives me more motivation to break it again and again.”
The girls may have lost 53.5-117.5, but they didn’t disappoint. By the time the meet started, six girls had fallen ill and been taken out of the meet, leaving anywhere from six to 24 lanes empty. However, the girls gave Mrs. Wheeler, the team’s coach, no reason to worry.
“These girls, some of them who only swim in a relay or don’t usually swim at all, stepped up when we all needed them,” junior Lexi Dorotinsky said. “And even though the Churchill girls team was really good, each and every single one of those girls swam their hearts out.”
Sophomore Caroline Cornish, freshman Elizabeth Mao, junior Christina You, and junior Michelle Li were among the girls who stepped up and competed in extra events. Some of the girls even swam four events in the meet, instead of their usual three.
Senior Kamryn Umbel and freshman Sophia Wang also helped the team by earning first place in their events. Umbel continued to dominate in diving, as Wang did in 100 breastroke.
The last dual meet of the year concluded with the annual senior send off. “The only thing that was going through my mind was, ‘It’s almost over.’” senior swim captain Matt Nguyen reflected. “All I wanted to do since my freshman year was get to [today], but once it came, I never wanted to leave.”
“There’s nothing I’m gonna miss more than having the team together,” Nguyen continued. While the team captain will most likely turn up at Divisionals, he still had some parting advice for the team next year. “Focus on becoming even closer…There needs to be a sense of unity among the different classes, and it is only then that the team is truly a team.”
Featured photo by Meaghan Davis.
