Bearcat team captains draft teams and battle against each other in
inter squad meet of the season
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On the sunny morning of April 15, 2022 Bearcat swimmers were abuzz with excitement. While most bearcats snoozed in their beds, enjoying the first day of spring break, these aquatic athletes dove into the steaming pool in a race against their teammates.
This event is known as the iconic Captains Meet. A yearly tradition among the PRHS swim & dive team, where the collective team is put against each other to see who is truly the fastest. Captains of the girls team (Ava Hughes & Holly Disomone) and captains of the boys team (Reily Lowry & Jackson Parr) each create a draft of players to swim against each other in the last competition of the year until they go off to CIF. This event is the climax of the season, being the “senior night” -the last home game showing major support of the seniors.
The leadup to the event starts the week before. Team captains meet up and take turns selecting members for their draft. Then they act as coaches, choosing who will compete in each event and preparing the players. Finally the big day arrives and the rising tension between the boys and girls teams culminates.
The boys strategy was revealed by Nolan Severson, “For my backstroke event my strategy was to go out strong with a fast arm pace, and then bring it home with my legs and kick as hard as I could” he stated. This proved effective with their 14 point win. Although the girls team lost, they were leading at the start and kept up their spirit the whole way through.
All events were swam, including a dive off at the end. The crowd watched in awe at the amazing jumps and flips that some of the swimmers performed.
The meet concluded with a relay race of coaches vs. seniors. Coach Colin Moore– a record breaking Bearcat alumni– started off strong creating a lead for the coaches team, however the youth and practice of the seniors came in for the victory.
Senior Girls co-captain Ava Hughes shared her thoughts, “ The captain vs. captain intersquad meet is my favorite tradition that the swim team does; the boys and girls team interact in ways we don’t usually and no matter who wins, we all have a great time. Getting to draft swimmers from both teams and then assign them events proves how complicated a coach’s job can be sometimes, but I loved the challenge! I grew up swimming with many of the seniors that we celebrated at the meet, and although it was a bittersweet moment at the end of an incredible season, I’m so lucky to be teammates with every senior we celebrated.” she said.
Most would agree with Ava that the best moment of the day was the senior send off. Emotional parents, siblings and friends packed in tight around the group of athletes. Kind words were spoken of each and every senior (as well as some sarcastic insults) and tears were shed. It was a beautiful coming together moment as the group reflected on the fun times and bad times swimming at PRHS.
A bright future is ahead for the Bearcat swimmers, as the fastest individuals will go to CIF rounds at Clovis West on May 6th -7th, and the rest will continue to improve their skills for next year or the upcoming waterpolo season. As seniors head off to college and their lives ahead, the team is losing some important players. However some of this year’s freshmen are fastest on the team (Garret Hagmark) promising lots of potential, especially considering the plans for the new pool. Paso Robles Aquatic spirit really shined through on this exciting day.
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