Diving Into the Casady Swim Team
On Friday, January 13th, the Casady Swim team competed in their first-annual sprint meet, consisting solely of events 100 yards or shorter, with the exception of the 200 yard freestyle. Swim meets are exercises in both endurance and speed, as they normally last around four to five hours, and athletes have to endure back-to-back events as well as long periods of relative inactivity. While the sprint meet was no exception to the rule, it certainly seemed to go by quicker just because of how short each event was. There are usually 23 events in a given meet, alternating between girls and boys events. This meet was incredibly different from any of the other meets we have competed in, as usually swimmers are limited to four events: two individuals and two relays. However, in a sprint meet, because the events are so short, swimmers can participate in up to 6 events.This meet was also exceptional as many swimmers qualified for the upcoming SPC, increasing the SPC team to Maddy Lu (‘24), Mattox Blaik (‘24), Thomas Rudnicki (‘24), Nishant Shrivastava (‘24), Maysa Slobodov (‘23), Grae Zedlitz (‘26), Sophie Buthion (‘23), Jax Coates (‘24), Krish Patel (‘25), Danzel Chen (‘26), Ayden Kerr (‘25) Emma Albro (‘23), Kate Sparling (‘23), Eric Tien (‘23) and Robert Scheer (‘23).
“This meet was enjoyable because of how unique it was, in that it was a different kind of meet with many unique events that we don’t normally get to swim,” said Senior Emma Albro. “It was also nice to spend time with my teammates and cheer them all on and build up that sense of camaraderie. We’re all pretty close on the swim team.” Emma is one of seven seniors leading the team this year, as well as Sophie Buthion, Robert Scheer, Niousha Sima, Maysa Slobodov, Kate Sparling, and Eric Tien.
This meet also marked the last official competition before SPC in February, so many swimmers were looking to make qualifying times in their respective events. Swimmer Jax Coates qualified in the 50 yard freestyle by 0:00.16 seconds, coming in at 0:29.84, with the qualifying time being 0.30.00 seconds for the men. Jax said the race was “exhilarating! This was my last chance to qualify for SPC, so there was a lot on the line. I still remember finishing my race and seeing my team screaming and jumping up and down. I didn’t even need to see my time but I knew from their reaction that I had done it.” One of the greatest aspects of the swim team this year is the sense of support and friendship that has grown over the season. Nishant Shrivastava, among many others, was present at the meet Friday, and he was especially enthusiastic about cheering on Jax in his SPC-qualifying race. He recalls the moment as electric and nail-biting, saying “I will never forget that moment in my life.” True team spirit and encouragement is the “best thing about swim this year,” Meera Abuelshar (‘24) said.
This SPC is especially exciting as it is the last one Casady Swim will ever compete in. Next year marks the school’s official transition to OSSAA athletics, so for both seniors and underclassmen, this year is quite bittersweet.
Good luck to our Cyclone Swimmers as they continue on their road to SPC!