The swim team qualified for four events in Central Coast Section (CCS): the boys medley team, the boys 4×1 relay, the one fly by sophomore Justin Li, and freshman diver Misha Tinetti, head coach Kyler Van Swol said. Tinetti placed third at CCS and made 13th at California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state, and the 4×1 relay placed last at CCS, he said.
Although the qualified teams hadn’t placed very high in CCS, they were still excited to be there at all, senior and swimmer Robert Salazar said. Only one team qualified for CCS last year, so having four make it this year was an empowering moment for them, Salazar said.
“Our medley team, we found the Friday before that we made it (to CCS) so we were all jumping around,” Salazar said. “We didn’t think the 4×1 team made it until we found out on Monday, and when we found out, we all jumped in the pool.
Losing the medley team event was a hard hit for the team, Salazar said. Their backstroker was charged with a false start which led to the whole team being disqualified, Salazar said.
“Our backstroker Nakul Warrier went in the water and he was getting ready,” Salazar said. “He was planning his feet and his foot slipped. He was adjusting, and that’s when they said to set your mark, so to them (the judges), it looked like he was false starting, but he was just readjusting himself.”
The team was sad to have taken a loss with the medley team, Van Swol said.
“I think our medley would have been our best relay team, but our best participant was our diver from the girls team,” Van Swol said. “She did fantastic. She took third at CCS, made CIF state and got thirteenth as a freshman.”
Although the whole team was very excited to make it to CCS, their results at CCS left room for improvement, senior swimmer Brendan Tam said.
“To really be good you have to be really dedicated to the sport, but I think that’s something that our team, our team culture, just hasn’t developed yet,” Tam said.
The team’s goal this year was to make it to CCS, and they reached that goal, Van Swol said. They have potential to place higher, but that requires a different mindset, he added.
“The energy of finals is a lot different than the energy of prelims,” Van Swol said. “The way we approach it, it’s a lot different. If we were seeded in the top 16, I think our energy would be a lot different going into it with a much more competitive attitude.”
The team is optimistic about their chances of placing higher in the next couple of years, Tam said.
“Our program’s still fairly new and still trying to develop like other schools that have been developing their programs for a while, but Milpitas should be coming up soon,” Tam said.
The team has put in much physical and monetary investment into training for CCS, Tam said. The team bought advanced suits out-of-pocket for each player, averaging around $300 a piece, he added.
“They’re hard workers; they put in the work and show up to practice and they are very driven,” Van Swol said.