The boys swim team secured a 100-70 victory over the Carlmont Scots on Thursday afternoon after the senior night celebration. The girls team put up a strong fight but fell 88-82 in a close contest.
The meet opened with the 200-yard medley relay, where the girls A relay, consisting of seniors Addison Finn and Hailey Preuss and freshmen Hana Lai and Zara Wong, finished second with a CCS-qualifying time of 1:54.42. The girls B relay of junior Alex Sanchez Jara*, freshman Maddie Webb, junior Maya Earley, and senior Jocelyn Chang placed third with a time of 1:59.54. On the boys side, the A relay did not qualify due to a lack of people, but the B relay of junior Chan Na, freshman Ryan Ko, junior Joseph Tompkins, and senior Zach Quintana achieved second in a narrow battle at 1:48.30, less than a quarter of a second behind first place.
“In my four years here on the team we had never beaten Carlmont High School, so winning 100-70 was kind of crazy. It felt huge,” senior Issac Chuang said. “I think this meet uniquely showed what we’ve been building all season. I think we’ve gotten sharper, more detailed. I can feel that we’re more connected as a team.”
“This meet in particular was very fun because Carlmont is a very evenly matched team to ours so it brings out everyone’s competitiveness and everyone’s spirit to cheer for everyone else and to support everyone in their races,” Lai said.
In the boys 200-yard freestyle, junior Michael Powell excelled with a CCS-qualifying time of 1:42.58, more than eight seconds faster than the runner-up. Earley secured the second-place spot for the girls at 2:07.80.
Preuss dominated the girls 200-yard individual medley at 2:08.78, a CCS cut that placed her over 10 seconds ahead of any other swimmer. Lai took third for M-A with a 2:28.98 finish, less than a second away from second place. For the boys, junior Alex Powell claimed the victory, followed three seconds behind by freshman Ryan Powell in second.
In the boys 50-yard freestyle, M-A swept the podium with senior Jack Bullard, Tompkins, and Quintana finishing first, second, and third, respectively. The girls built on this as the top three swimmers crossed the line within a quarter of a second, placing J. Chang and Finn in second and third.
“It was really great to see everybody rising up to the challenge and giving it their all. It was really inspiring,” Preuss said. “The last race of the meet everyone who was cheering on the other side of the school started chanting ‘Let’s go Hailey’ and I’m never going to forget that.”
A. Powell crushed the boys 100-yard butterfly, snatching the victory and a CCS cut of 54.50. The girls fell short, though freshman Kate Wong was able to secure third, finishing in 1:02.79.
The boys continued their hot streak with first and second place from Bullard and freshman Theodore Laster in the 100-yard freestyle, with Bullard’s time qualifying him for CCS. On the girls side, J. Chang claimed second with a time of 1:00.05.
Picking up momentum, the Bears dominated the 500-yard freestyle. For the girls, Preuss and Lai took the top two spots, with Preuss earning a CCS cut, more than 17 seconds ahead of her opponents. On the boys side, M. Powell also qualified for CCS with an incredible first-place finish—more than 30 seconds faster than the runner-up—and freshman Agustin Araya took third.
In the 200-yard freestyle relay, A. Powell, R. Powell, Bullard, and M. Powell secured a win for the boys, while J. Chang, K. Wong, senior Sarah Chang, and Z. Wong earned second for the girls.
The swimmers continued their momentum as Finn and K. Wong took first and second place in the girls 100-yard backstroke, both qualifying for CCS. R. Powell won the race for the boys with a finish more than four seconds ahead of his opponent, also achieving a CCS cut.
Despite this, M-A struggled in the 100-yard breaststroke with two third-place finishes from Webb for the girls and Araya for the boys.
The Bears redeemed themselves in the final event: the 400-yard freestyle relay. Finn, K. Wong, Lai, and Preuss came in first for the girls with a CCS-qualifying win, while S. Chang, junior Harper Williams, senior Elise Miller, and Webb secured third. On the boys side, A. Powell, Bullard, R. Powell, and M. Powell won the race and qualified for CCS with a time almost 15 seconds ahead of the second-place swimmers. Na, Laster, Ko, and Araya took third place to conclude the meet.
“My hope is that we keep raising the standard for the rest of the season,” Chuang said. “We have PALs to work on so I think we can finish the season strong if we just keep doing the small things right.”
The Bears will travel next to Sacred Heart Prep to face off against the Gators and the Menlo Knights on Friday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m. in the Battle of Atherton.
*Alex Sanchez Jara is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
