After competing against some of the fastest swimmers in the California Interscholastic Federation State Championships, the Palo Alto High School swim team faced another race on Saturday — against the clock — to make it back for Prom buses set to depart at 6:20 p.m.
Last week, Paly became the first school in Central Coast Section history to win CCS titles in both the boys’ and girls’ divisions. Following this historical feat, select swimmers qualified to swim at the state championships. For nine of the 11 swimmers, that meant the racing didn’t end in the pool — despite Paly holding holding a bus for the group, their 174-mile return to Palo Alto was filled with suspense.
Viking senior Blake Wang said that the team’s drive back from Clovis was filled with both excitement and anticipation, though they were concerned about making it back on time.
“The rush back was a combination of stressful and exciting,” Wang said. “The feeling of collecting our medals on the podium after the final event and then rushing to the locker room to wash off all the chlorine together was a great bonding moment. However, when the ETA on the navigation showed 6:40 [p.m.], there was a lot of stress. We weren’t sure if the buses would wait for us, but we were super fortunate to avoid almost all of the traffic. Had we been only slightly later, we would have had to drive straight to the venue instead, which would take even longer.”
Nico Ogawa, senior, said the team’s determination and camaraderie pulled them through one last stretch together.
“Our main concern was making the bus,” Ogawa said. “A few teammates left the meet early to make the bus, while three of us stayed for the medal ceremony. It was a lot of fun to weave through random side streets on the way back from Clovis in an attempt to avoid traffic, all while laughing and listening to music.”
At the competition, the boys placed fifth overall and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. The girls placed 10th overall, winning third in the 200-yard medley and sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay. Ogawa said he hopes that this record-breaking Swim and Dive season will highlight the program’s accomplishments.
“It felt amazing to place at states after our CCS victory because we were able to show that we aren’t only a section level program, but a state level one,” Ogawa said. “Despite only bringing six [male] athletes to the meet, we were able to place extremely high against the dominant programs from SoCal [Southern California]. In the past few weeks, I feel like we have shown the school why the swimming and diving team is the most successful program in school history, and I hope that our success at CCS and states can bring us more recognition for the achievements we have obtained.”
Ogawa, who broke his own school records for both the 50-yard and 100-yard backstroke times, said ending the season alongside his teammates made all the difference.
“The most meaningful part of the meet was standing on the podium for the 200 [yard] freestyle relay with three other seniors who I have competed with for my entire high school career,” Ogawa said. “I was originally entered to swim both of my individual events at states, … [but] I realized that I would rather be standing on the podium with some of my best friends, than stand up there alone.”
Llew Ladomirak, senior, said the most memorable part of the competition was placing third in the 200-yard medley. According to Ladomirak, the swim team members focused on cherishing their final meet together rather than worrying about results.
“Honestly, we were so happy after our CCS victory that we promised each other we’d make States simply about having fun,” Ladomirak said. “I’ve gone to States all four years of high school and the environment is exciting but very stressful, so taking that stress off made it such an enjoyable experience and made my last States so much fun.”
Junior Romy Kirby, who swam with Ladomirak in the medley, said their race was a fantastic finale after a season of hard work.
“It was so cool to come third at states,” Kirby said. “The feeling of knowing only two other teams in the whole state are faster than us was so surreal.”
With state championships being just a week after the team’s historic CCS victories, Wang said that the team was still riding the high of their accomplishments.
“As the first team to ever win CCS for both genders, we went into States feeling some confidence for the meet,” Wang said. “As a public school, getting fifth overall at States is a huge accomplishment, as private schools [can] recruit swimmers to their programs. On top of the blocks, I felt pride for our school and was anxious to represent us to the best of my ability. I was the most nervous I had ever been.”
