Even after losing four key senior swimmers this year, the boys’ swim team surpassed expectations, according to head coach Danny Dye.

“The swimming season was a successful one,” Dye said. “The boys came in having graduated four key swimmers, they were a young team and swam beyond expectations.”

While Monta Vista High School stole the Vikings’ hopes of winning their sixth consecutive Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division title, Dye said the team put up a good fight to place second.

“I was very pleased with the swims at Leagues,” Dye said. “All of the boys worked hard and gave a sixth league championship a heck of a try.”

Key swimmers who scored essential points during leagues include sophomore team captains Byron Sanborn and Rollin Lau. Sanborn led the team by placing first in the 100-yard breaststroke and second in the 200-yard individual medley. Lau, sophomore Corso Rosati and juniors D.J. Fotsch and Arseniy Kotov also added top eight finishes to their individual events, according to Dye.

The young team made a stellar comeback when it placed sixth in the Central Coast Section championship. Although the Vikings fell only four points short of their goal of placing among the top five schools in CCS rankings, they were able to surpass Monta Vista and increase their CCS position by one rank.

“I think the varsity team did a great job all season especially with the loss of our awesome seniors last year,” Lau said. “We even moved up a spot in CCS which was really impressive and I’m proud of the team.”

Many individual and team performances contributed to the high ranking in CCS. Sanborn won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 57.75 seconds, which is the second fastest time in Paly history. He also placed ninth in the 200-yard individual medley.

Additionally, Kotov, Sanborn, Fotsch and senior Bobby Abbott placed third in the 200-yard medley relay, exceeding expectations, according to Dye.

The diving team performed well at CCS, scoring many points for the team. Freshman Cole Plambeck placed fourth, junior Jordan Zenger seventh and freshman Alex Francis twelfth.

“The entire team showed improvement over the course of the year, all ages and grades did a great job of training and maturing to be a strong team with an exciting future ahead of them,” said Dye. “It is a young team with a big future.”