by Abbi Berry

Public Relations Editor

The post season for LGHS swimming is coming to a close. The team did incredibly well at leagues, with the coaches describing it as one of the most successful meets in their coaching careers. With a CCS team of twenty-two dedicated athletes, LGHS went on to dominate the meet at Santa Clara International Swim Center last Friday and Saturday.
League trials and finals were filled with both qualifying and record-breaking times. For the first time in LGHS swimming history, the JV boys became League champions. JV swimmer and now CCS team member Dylyan Condensa broke the League record in the 50 yard butterfly and went on to swim the butterfly leg of the 200 yard medley relay. Condensa won his individual event in the 50 yard freestyle as well. He recaps his experience, “Breaking the league record felt incredible. My teammates contributed a huge amount of support leading up to my swim that ultimately led to my success.”
Senior captain Han Nguyen was just off the 100 yard butterfly school record and hoped to break it at CCS. Nguyen partook two school-record-breaking relay teams that weekend. Along with junior Sydney Brown, sophomore Megan Tao, and senior co-captain Niki Surma, Nguyen broke the LGHS school record in the medley the relay; Brown swam backstroke, Tao swam breaststroke, Nguyen swam butterfly, and Surma swam the freestyle leg. With a lead off from junior Paige Fronczak followed by legs swum by Brown, Tao, and Nguyen, LGHS broke yet another record in the 400 yard freestyle relay. In both relays, the LGHS varsity girls placed second in the events, with an overall third place. Juniors Natalya Temple, Seth Deming, and sophomores Alison Berg and Mairin Culwell each qualified for individual events for the first time. Freshman Dylan Hawk placed second in both the 200 yard individual medley and 100 yard butterfly.
In the weeks leading up to CCS, the team had been working on team bonding. Hawk recounted the weeks of preparation: “To prepare for CCS, we have not been working as hard at practice so that we can be well rested for our swims. Coach Kroesche and Coach Deming also have been helping us to visualize our races and imagine the feeling of achieving our goal times.” The team visualized their races before every practice in order to calm their nerves for the actual race day. Junior Bruno Boltz detailed the team’s closeness: “The best part about being on the swim team is it doesn’t feel like a team, it’s so much more of a family where everyone supports everyone and we all care about each other and everyone’s goals.”
The Wildcats had an incredibly successful CCS. The girls placed fourth in the 200 yard medley relay, sixth in the 200 yard freestyle relay, and thirteenth in the 400 yard freestyle relay. The boys placed seventh and sixth in the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Surma won her consolation heat of the 200 yard freestyle, out touching her competitor by .01 seconds. After breaking the 200 yard individual medley school record in trials, Nguyen went on to break it again, and this time a second faster, placing third. Nguyen later swam the 100 yard butterfly and placed fourth. Brown won her consolation heat of the 100 yard freestyle, and teammate Tao was just a stroke behind. Brown and Tao placed ninth and twelfth respectively. Senior Captain Tony Casaccia placed sixth in both his 100 and 50 yard freestyles. Both teams placed in the top eight in CCS, with boys in eighth and girls in sixth.
Senior Captain Edward Zhang recapped his final season, “There are many great things about the swim team but I think what stands out above the perfect tan and the endorphins and the sweet aroma of chlorine is our supportive teammates. The LGHS swim team is unified and spirited. I’m lucky to be a part of such an incredible group of swimmers and coaches.”
Make sure to congratulate your CCS swimmers and CIF State qualifiers.