On Apr. 24, Aragon’s swim team closed its regular season against Sequoia High School in an energetic meet filled with new personal records and motivation as swimmers prepared for PALS championships and CCS qualifiers.
Although Sequoia won the overall meet, Aragon varsity girls dominated Sequoia with 109-61, making it one of their strongest performances of this season. The varsity boys fell 98-68, while the JV girls and boys also lost their meets. Despite the final scores, swimmers said that this meet showcased the team’s improvement and competitive energy.
“I thought it was pretty fun because everyone was able to swim at their PRs and everyone made some improvements,” said sophomore Connor Li.
Several races came down to the final touch of the wall, especially during relays. One of the most exciting moments of the game was during the varsity boys’ 400 freestyle relay, where Aragon almost had a comeback very late in the race despite being behind in the beginning.
“They were down by almost half a lap,” said sophomore Siena Chen. “On the last leg, they caught up so much and it was really close.”
Junior Ashley Cheng also highlighted the varsity boys’ 200 medley race as one of the standout performances because of the close finish between the two teams.
Swimmers described the meet environment as loud and energetic throughout the afternoon, especially since it was Sequoia’s senior night which brought extra excitement and support from both schools. During each of the races, teammates and coaches all crowded around the pool cheering on the swimmers as they completed each lap.
“The energy is always powerful,” Li said. “Everyone is using all their lung energy to yell to whoever is swimming in the water.”
The atmosphere during long distance races stood out to many swimmers because of the overwhelming support from both the crowd and their teammates. During the 500 freestyle races, swimmers complete 20 laps, making it one of the most tiring and endurance-heavy events. Teammates and coaches shouted many encouragements to help the swimmers to push through and keep going.
“Every time I came up for air, I could hear people cheering, “ Gunstream said. “It really motivated me when I was swimming.”
Along with strong relay performances, many swimmers broke their personal records during the meet. Li dropped two seconds in his 50 freestyle. He explained how races like the 50 freestyle requires swimmers to go all out from the moment they dive into the water.
“You have to go as fast as you can [and] do lots of coordination between your arms and legs,” Li said.
Junior Vikram Patnaik also reflected on his individual races and the importance of controlling energy output throughout longer races.
“My biggest thing is I have to keep energy for the entire race,” Patnaik said. “Better to be dead going into the last 50 than to still have a lot left.”
Other swimmers also had strong standout performances during the meet. Senior Lily Anagnoson qualified for CCS in the 100 butterfly despite primarily competing as a backstroker, surprising many of her teammates.
As the regular season comes to an end, many swimmers highlighted how much the team has improved compared to the start of the season. Athletes said that the meets have become less stressful and more enjoyable compared to the first few games.
“I definitely improved from the earlier meets,” said junior Grace Gombosi. “I knew what to expect more and I was more excited and less nervous.”
With PALS and CCS qualifiers approaching, the team hopes to continue improving their times and finish the season strong as they head towards postseason.
