Boys Swim makes a Spalsh

Jonathan Mui, Staff Writer

 

Whitney Young Varsity and Sophomore Boys Swim and Dive won First Place

 

Splash! What’s that? It’s the Whitney Young Boys Swimming and Diving swimming away with another City Championship title! But was this win a fluke? Did they just get lucky? Well, let’s take a look at the team’s pathway to success!

 

With the first meet of the season taking place just two weeks after getting back into the water, the team had no time to lose. Beginning with the very first practice set, which consisted of more than 7,000 yards (the average swim set is only around 5,000 yards), they began what would be 3 months of hard work. Each practice was focused on improving a different goal. One day would be a medley workout, another would be distance conditioning, and the next would be fine-tuning techniques and motor skills. Even though these sets may seem daunting, Eric Robey, a senior swimmer, advises to “keep going even if the set is hard, you’ll surprise yourself with what you can accomplish”.

 

Meet after meet, the Boys Swim Team came out on top in 6 of the 7 dual meets they had. They also placed second in both the City Relays and the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (NISCA) PowerPoint Invite. But out of all these meets, which one was the most memorable? Swim captain Nick Walvoord says his most memorable meet was the Gummy Worms Kick Relay. Similar to a track relay, the swimmers had to pass an object between racers; but, instead of passing a baton, they had to pass a kickboard, and proceed to swim an entire pool’s length just by kicking with it. While the race itself sounds strenuous, by the end of the meet, the boys walked out with 15 pounds of gummy bears.

 

Although the pace of the meets slowed down, swimmers continued training hard and worked towards the big meet: the CPL City Championship. With the help of Coach Maxwell Boettcher and Assistant Coach Gerald Winston, swimmers improved their times and skills within the span of a couple of weeks. Some swimmers tailored these practices towards specific goals, like senior David Wong, who wanted to “consistently break a minute on his 100 Backstroke”.

All of this hard work paid off on Saturday. Both the Varsity and Sophomore teams crushed the CPL City Championship, meddling in 11 out of the 12 events, and ultimately beating out 20 other schools with a total of 275 points. While this win was a great way to end the seniors’ four-year high school swimming career, it was also a great start for all the new members of the swim team. When asked about how it felt to win cities, ninth-grader Thomas Yu expressed that “as a freshman, it feels fantastic to start season one with a huge win”. 

 

The team’s success doesn’t stop here. The sectional swim meet is coming up in a week, and our boys are still training hard each day to bring home even more medals and plaques. Be sure to head out to the UIC Flames Natatorium on Saturday, February 18 to support our boys and watch some crazy fast performances!

Photos courtesy of author 2022 2023.