The Camas High School (CHS) boys’ swim season has come to an end. In a season that lasted from November to February, the boys’ swim team finished their season with a 9-1 record.

CHS swim is a non-cut sport that accepts swimmers of all levels. Many of the swimmers on the team believe that one of the finest aspects of being a member of the team is how warm and friendly the community is.

“Our community is very nice and we are very welcoming. If we had to improve on something, it would be our school spirit and our team cheers because we sometimes lack a little in that. But we are willing to cheer on each other and the community we form is very friendly, “ said sophomore Alan Xie.

This season, not only as individual swimmers but also as a team, there was a significant amount of growth and improvement. Many swimmers broke their personal records on several events, and some even reached their goal of making district times.

“It is not only as individuals in the team but also our team coherency grew a lot throughout the season. Everyone, especially the newer people that joined, that swam grew so much and their ability to swim. As a team, we grew to be really good friends,” said junior Tyler Sutherland.

In numerous meets this season, the CHS swim team defeated other teams by more than 100 points and some meets with over 200 points, solidifying its position as a very dominant school team. However, their incredible winning streak ended during their most recent and final meet, where CHS narrowly fell to Union in the district meet by only five points.

 Nonetheless, the swimmers were still very proud of their team and their record.

“It was very anticlimactic. We had a very great season, we won all our meets against Union and then at the very end, we lost districts. It is still a very good season overall,” said Sutherland.

“We all collectively had very good times and we all dropped our swim times together,” said Xie. “Although we did not win districts, we had a lot of fun and that matters the most.”

Experienced swimmers provide advice for students who are thinking about joining the swim team next year: prepare to wake up early, do not skip swim practice, and make sure to have a good work ethic and time management abilities. 

“Swimming fires a lot of that drive, so if you are willing to be a part of our community, you have to be willing to put in the work as well,” said Xie.

All that remains for the swimmers in the present is to be ready and to anticipate the start of the new school year’s season. Swimmers like sophomore Pranaya Shrestha are eager to return to competition in the water with high expectations and many goals in mind.

“I definitely would consider swimming next year and I would look forward to districts again,” said Shrestha. ”Even though I did not have the best times there, it was still a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”