Co-Captain Theo Randall ’23 swimming in the team’s meet against Suffield.
Above, Daniel Seong ’25 swims breaststroke.
Boy’s Swimming had a successful weekend, dominating St. John’s Prep on Friday and Suffield Academy on Saturday in the first two meets held in the Pan Athletic Center.
Ethan Zhu ’26 believed that the event was characterized by high energy and team spirit, two aspects essential to a swimmer’s motivation in the pool. Unlike a team sport, swimming requires a single person’s effort, which needs support, Zhu noted.
“I think our energy was one of the main strengths we had coming into the event. Everyone was cheering for each other, [being] super supportive, and people were excited and pumped for their races. After the races, people also congratulated each other and did the right things to prepare for their next race. We were warming up well, we were cooling down well, we were swimming our races with good technique, and we went into everything with confidence and composure,” Zhu said.
Oliver Feng ’25 highlighted Co-Captain Theo Randall ’23 as a star swimmer this past weekend. Feng noted Randall’s ability to encourage players throughout their relay.
Feng said, “Theo Randall demonstrated great excitement that fueled us, especially on the last event (the 400-Free Relay), where our relay won. He stood out with his supportive attitude and was a team player throughout the meet.”
According to Brandon Xu ’26, Pippin Kantakom ’25 performed exceptionally well due to his strength and fighting spirit. Despite the pressure that was placed on him, he ended up winning his event.
“I think one of the stand-out players was Pippin because he raced against Christopher Xia [23], one of the Senior Captains on our team, in the 200 IM (Individual Medley). I was impressed that he was able to beat him since he is one of the younger swimmers on our team,” Xu said.
Feng noted the importance of staying in shape and maintaining good health. Through these practices, Feng explained, everyone is adequately prepared before each meet.
Feng said, “We have been training pretty hard to mainly just keep in shape and get stronger. The more we train, the more endurance and stamina we will get for future meets. We will try to make gradual increases in our intensity to be able to reach these goals.”
Xu believes the team should sustain their positive mindset and exertion in the pool. He highlighted the absence of any shortcomings and praised the team’s performance during both competitions.
Xu said, “I believe that if we continue the way we prepare for these events, such as getting enough rest and eating well, we will continue to strive in these situations. We have been working on, and are continuing to work on, maintaining good habits in and out of the pool.”
Zhu shares a similar sentiment to Xu, believing the team needs to stay rested and healthy for their important upcoming events despite dominating their competition this past weekend.
“Considering that our big meets are coming up in a little bit more than a month from now, I think the plan is to stay in good shape and condition, work hard in practice, and take care of ourselves outside of practice, such as getting enough sleep and eating well. These are all the small steps that lead up to having a good final meet at the end of the season,” Zhu said.
Boys Swimming and Diving will be up against Deerfield away next weekend.
