Their hearts racing as they hurriedly sprint around the track inside of Postell Stadium, the Jesuit Swim Team prepares for the upcoming 2015-16 swim season by initially training their bodies outside of the water. The swim team’s season is starting out drier than usual as Loos Natatorium remains under unfortunate repairs from a leak. Eager to stay in tip-top shape to prepare for the season, “dry lands” as the team calls it, or practices outside of the water, have been extended another week. This obstacle is a major inconvenience for the team as it stops them from working on their form and different strokes.
Despite the extended dry practices, the team’s morale has stayed high under the new leadership of the three captains: Michael Boyson ’16, Brendan Feehery ’16, and Sam Betanzos ’16. The three of them have created workouts alongside the coaches that have resulted in the team being in “better physical core shape than last year,” according to Coach Madeline Maggard. Senior team captain, Boyson, said that the fact that the team hasn’t worked out in the water yet is “a big adversity that [they] are going to have to overcome in order to make this season great” and that “having two swim meets coming up this month and still not having any pool time is very unfortunate.” However, Boyson ’16 still “believes that [the] team will come out strong.”
Amongst all these challenges, the team will also have to find out how to replace the last year’s graduating seniors. An impressive class, last year’s seniors helped lead the swim team to fifth place at state, achieving many of the goals they set at the beginning of last season. This year’s new freshman class looks promising, but without any time in the water, the coaches and captains can only speculate from their physical abilities how they will do in the water. The freshman may not be the biggest class in numbers, but Coach Maggard thinks that the “unusually large sophomore class” makes up for their deficiency in manpower. Looking at the junior class of 2017, it contains many strong swimmers like Jack Ayres ’17, Jack Matthews ’17 Will Henrion ’17, Tim Bedard ’17, and Grayson Bucholz ’17, who not only swims for the team, but dives as well. Finally, the senior class looks at this season as their last chance to make Jesuit Swim Team history and advance farther than any team before them. Michael Boyson ’16 firmly believes that “It’s up to Sam Betanzos, Brendan Feehery, and [him] to guide the team, along with the coaches, so that [they] can have a successful season.” Boyson lastly added that “until the season is complete and the last race is swam at State, nothing is certain.”
This upcoming season is shaping up to be another great one for the Jesuit Swim Team. Come watch the Jesuit Rangers Swimming and Diving Team this year as they look to have another amazing season!
