Returning swimmers and newcomers prepare to head into the water for a league opener tomorrow with high hopes of a memorable season for the Palo Alto High School boys’ and girls’ swim teams following last season’s successes.
The bar is high for the girls’ swim team, which won the Central Coast Section championship last year and placed third in state, according to head coach Danny Dye. The team swept the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League rankings with a league score of 6-0.
Although a few swimmers graduated last year, senior team captain Peyton Wang trusts this year’s incoming swimmers to make good times.
“In terms of racing, our team is as strong as last year,” Wang said. “We have a strong chance of winning SCVALs again and scoring in the top three at CCS.”
Dye agrees that the girls have a good shot at advancing far this season.
“The girls still have a lot of potential and a lot of talent, so I think our goal is still to win leagues and win CCS,” Dye said.
Aside from returning swimmers, the team will also depend on new freshman swimmers and those who moved up from junior varsity.
“As the season progresses and the team gains more experience with competing, there will definitely be more time improvements, and I hope we can go undefeated again like last year,” Wang said.
Newcomers have joined the boys’ team as well, following the loss of graduating swimmers.
“We have a young group of guys this year,” Dye said. “They’re working hard, doing a lot, and so it’s exciting to see where this one’s gonna go.”
Last season, boys swimming finished second in league with a 3-3 record. The team is training hard in preparation for this season, according to team captain Jack Andersen.
“We have been increasing the difficulty of our workouts over the past few weeks, and we have been doing practice races to gauge if we have been getting faster,” Andersen said. “Luckily, we have highly skilled freshman and junior classes.”
The Vikings will have their league meet against Monta Vista High School at 3:45 p.m. tomorrow at Monta Vista.
