Cowritten by Summer de Vera (’18) and Rebecca Samuelson (’13)

Middle school swim had an incredibly strong season to defend its title as Pacific Basin League Champions. Last year, the Middle School Swim Team had a successful swim season, winning the school’s first ever League Championship. This year, they came back even stronger and fought even harder for a second win.

On November 3rd, the Middle School Swim Team woke up early to go to Brentwood for the long-awaited championship meet. Swimmers stood outside of the facility, waiting in anticipation for the meet to start. All of the girls contributed hours and hours of hard work in the pool throughout the season to lead up to this day. They were inspired by a pep talk from team captains Summer de Vera and Saskia Wong-Smith, and used the rest of the day to socialize and bond more. Although it was a cold morning, the team bravely jumped into the water. After an energizing team cheer, the swim competition began.

8th grader Kaia Turowski comments on the excitement of the atmosphere: “It was exhilarating watching who would finish first in all the races.” Her teammate, Eleanor Kinsel (6th), adds that the victory was “fun” and “scary” because of the nerves in the air.

Throughout the meet, all of the Archer girls and fans who came to support them cheered for the swimmers in the water. It was a joyous day and it got even more exciting when the results were announced. The scores were very close between Crossroads and Archer and the final tally depended on the 100 freestyle race. Co-captain Summer de Vera earned the crucial victory. In the end, the team succeeded and won its second Pacific Basin League Championship.

Swimmer Isabelle Wilson tells the Oracle, “throughout the entire meet, we were all pretty nervous, yet optimistic. We all hoped that we would win, so when they announced that we won, it was extremely exciting. It felt like all of our hard work throughout the season paid off!”

Coach Cushman sums up the win, and the entire season: “the Archer Swim Team came together in a big way during the championship meet. I was particularly impressed by how much support each swimmer had for their teammates. They were either swimming, getting ready to swim, or cheering their hearts out. In the end Archer put together a great meet with many personal and relay best times. Their hard work and dedication throughout the season paid off by winning their second straight championship.”

Featured Image: The MS swim team. Photographer: Marsha de Vera