While the water temperature in a swimming pool is typically 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the San Francisco Bay’s water temperature is a chilly 60 degrees Fahrenheit, even in the summer. Despite this, on Aug. 7, senior Xavier McKenzie was one of the hundreds of open-water swimmers who participated in the Alcatraz Sharkfest Swim.
For McKenzie, a water polo player for the Aragon boys varsity team and the Mid-Peninsula Water Polo club, the 1.5-mile swim from Alcatraz Island to San Francisco was a new experience. On the other hand, his mom Dayna McKenzie participated in it twice before the COVID-19 cancellations.
“The second time I did it [in] 2018, Xavier was like, ‘‘I want to do this next time,’” Dayna McKenzie said.
With a pace of 21:57 per mile and a time of 35:08, McKenzie finished 13th out of roughly 1000 swimmers and fourth out of the 11 swimmers in the 15 to 17 age group.
“Acclimatizing to the cold is the big thing, especially because [the cold] … can take your breath away,” Dayna McKenzie said. “[Xavier] didn’t even want to get in hot tubs [because] it’s harder to swim in cold water if you like warm showers.”
Even with the preparation beforehand, the temperature came as a shock.
“I swam in the ocean [with] no wetsuit [and] I went to Lake Tahoe, but nothing compares to the middle of the Bay,” Xavier McKenzie said. “When you first jump in, it’s freezing. You [become] numb to the coldness and then you start to swim into warmer water as you get closer … to the land.”
At the starting line, everybody waited for the ferries to ring the bell that signaled the swimmers to go.
“It’s frantic,” Xavier McKenzie said. “You’re getting kicked. But as soon as people … start to separate by speed, you … get into a rhythm.”
McKenzie’s best strategy for long-distance swimming is knowing his speed.
“I know my cruising speed,” Xavier McKenzie said. “I was hitting that mark every time and I was also singing a little song in [my] head.”
Along the way, McKenzie encountered various challenges, even as someone who regularly swims one to two miles in the pool.
“I had chafing from my wetsuit, which was incredibly bad,” McKenzie said. “I’m not an open-water swimmer. [It’s] a feeling [of] … vastness. You don’t have a wall to push off of, so you’re also a lot slower.”
Water sports have always been a significant part of McKenzie’s life, especially being raised in Australia.
“Every year up to grade six, every [Australian] student has to do four weeks of swimming a year … to reduce the chances of drowning,” Dayna McKenzie said.
McKenzie’s strong swimming background motivated him to try out for Aragon’s junior varsity water polo team as a freshman. Due to his height, McKenzie was positioned as a goalie.
“In freshman year, we went undefeated,” McKenzie said. “I came [into] the sport with these good feelings.”
Once McKenzie entered the varsity team as a utility and right-wing player in sophomore year, he experienced the aggressiveness of water polo. It took some time to get used to this competitive environment.
“When I was in JV it … was never really about the toughness,” Xavier McKenzie said. “[I] … didn’t feel like I was being attacked. But as soon as I went to varsity my sophomore year, [it] was a whole ‘nother game. I was being pushed around.”
McKenzie’s resilience has been tested after getting injuries from the sport. One time, McKenzie got his jaw dislocated while playing a school game.
“The [umpire] didn’t even pull the guy out,” Dayna McKenzie said. “He punched [Xavier McKenzie]in the face and [they] didn’t see it. You see things as a mother that no one else notices because they’re not looking. But he doesn’t complain about it.”
As someone who plays on both school and club teams, McKenzie has noticed a difference in team chemistry.
“I know all of the people on my school team, whereas I would go into the first club season practice not knowing a soul,” Xavier McKenzie said. “[You need] time … to build that trust. [In] school, you just get into it.”
Senior Avery Misner has known McKenzie since fifth grade and witnessed McKenzie’s growth as an Aragon water polo player.
“[In] our freshman year, he was our goalie,” Misner said. “Then … he was our leading goal scorer last year. So going from having no goals … to a leading goal scorer [is] pretty amazing.”
Averaging five goals a game, McKenzie was honored with the Boys’ Water Polo First Team All League recognition last year.
McKenzie is currently in the recruiting process but is also willing to join a club or become a walk-on player during college.
In the meantime, McKenzie will finish out his last season as an Aragon water polo player.
