The swim team has always gone above and beyond their limits. Last year the swim team went to state, where the boys beat ten records and the girls beat nine. But their winning streak hasn’t stopped yet. This year, leaders like Chris Flynn, Brandon Maas and Isabella Voelkl raise the bar for the swim team.
“We need to improve on being more of a team,” Junior, Isabella Voelkl said. “It’s an individual sport, but we need to work together at the same time. Swim meets aren’t just about individual needs. And that can be a struggle sometimes.”
Voelkl has set a best time in the 50 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, and the 400 freestyle relay. She is definitely one of the stronger swimmers on the girl’s team. Even so, she wants to make a collective goal that the whole team can strive to reach together. Her teammate Chris Flynn seems to agree to disagree in this case.
“Actually, my favorite part is being able to count on everybody being part of the same team to reach a common goal,” Junior, Chris Flynn said.
Flynn set eight records this year and last year, including the 200 individual medley, the 100 breaststroke, and the 100 backstroke. While teamwork improvement is always something to be worked on, for some, it is not the basis of the swim team’s goals.
“I think that the swim team is perfect the way it is. I’m more worried about polishing up our swim times and getting to state this year,” Junior, Brandon Maas said.
Maas has set five records, three of which Flynn participated in, and the 50 freestyle and 500 freestyle. The next meet, on January 27th and 28th, is the district meet. The swimmers are starting to crack down on their swim times and concentrate on their progress.
“I feel confident with how I did last year and I feel like I’m doing even better this year,” Flynn said. “District is more of a stepping stone to get to state.”
He isn’t the only one that’s confident about districts.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll make it to regional,” Voelkl said. “But when it comes down to the relays, it all depends on how well we work together.”
Coach Rafaeli disagreed on the level of difficulty of getting to state, but not on her team’s talent and ability.
“State is always a goal of ours every year, but we do have a tough district and one of the hardest regions in state. So we always have to work hard to stay focused to achieve state goals.”
In the end, the flawlessness of a functioning team is what boosts individual swimmers to their final goal. And while this could be a difficult goal to meet, there are others that aren’t so worried about it.
“It is always hard for a team to find leadership and spirit when you start off with freshmen and sophomores, but this year they are becoming spirited and motivated towards each other,” Said Coach Rafaeli.
On Coach Rafaeli’s website she has six pages worth of expectations and swim philosophy that the swim team must sign and abide by. This kind of group agreement shows how well they work together. After all is said and done, teamwork is a huge part of the Vandegrift swim team’s mindset as they work towards state for the second year in a row.
