The swim team had a great season this year, finishing strong with high placements in district, regional, and state meets. The athlete’s worked hard day in and day out by practicing long hours after school. “One of the more important aspects of my training is the racing element, so I’m racing just about every practice and that’s taught how me to perform on the spot no matter the condition I’m in. So when a meet comes I carry a lot of confidence knowing I’ve done this hundreds of times,” stated senior Luke Durocher. Throughout the season, there have been ups and downs but the Bears came out on top with a great winning season.
The swimmers are proud of their accomplishments and achievements. This season the team went all the way to states. For dual meets, the girls won against Massaponax, Colonial Forge, North Stafford, and Stafford, but lost to Mountain View. As for the boys in those dual meets; they won against Mountain View, Stafford, and Massaponax, they tied with Colonial Forge, and they lost to North Stafford.
After the regular season comes a time of elimination meets. These meets are meant to advance only the best swimmers on to the next round. Districts is the first of swims postseason. This year, the girls finished second and boys finished fourth in districts. Regionals was next. The girls finished in fourth and the boys finished in second. Finally, the teams went to states where senior Luke Durocher finished 4th in the 100 meter butterfly and 3rd in the 100 meter backstroke. Senior Genna Ross finished 16th in the 100 IM, which is a combination all all strokes. Genna Ross (senior), Nikki Koch (sophomore), Alice Sandoval (junior) and Cora VanDeusen (senior) finished 16th in the girls 400 relay. “Competing at states has always been one of the highlights of my year. While I may not always swim my best times, I love them because I get to watch some stellar athletes crush it. All the schools from our area cheer each other on and having that many people who want you to do well is very bittersweet,” said senior Cora Van Duesen.
Overall, the swim teams, both boys and girls, did a fantastic job competing this season. During the long hours or competition and practicing the team formed deep bonds. “I was put in charge of playing the music during practice so I got to bond with my teammates over my either poor taste in music or moments of success. There is a close bond like a family on the team and that’s something really special about the Riverbend swim team,” said senior Pia Basilica.
During the season, the coaches kept track of the top performers on the team, these swimmers were: Freshman Will Ross, Joe Durocher, Massimo Serafini, and Cristal Perdomo. The top seniors included, Luke Durocher, John Anderson, Cora Van Deusen, and Genna Ross. Congratulations to the swim team for having a stellar season and good luck next year!