Jack Major
Staff Writer
As Kai Bathurst smoothly stroked through the water and extended towards the wall, he breathed a sigh of relief: he had a comfortable lead and knew he was going to win. The boys and girls swim teams both won on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively in the South Bay Invitational prelims against 20 teams.
Top performers included juniors Andrew White and Henry Anthony as well as sophomore Kai Bathurst for the boys team, and junior Mona Stone and senior Katie Barnhill from the girls team. White was proud of the team’s overall performance.
“I felt like we have been training pretty hard in the pool and in the gym,” White said. “Considering that, the team and I are pretty tired and we did not perform at our best but we are gonna still do great at finals Friday.”
White participated in the 200 meter individual medley and the 100 meter backstroke with times of 2:03 and 54.4 seconds. He qualified for the finals in both placing second in the IM and first in the backstroke. White was pleased with his performance.
“Although I was tired when the race started, I got my stroke evened out and settled in,” White said. “I pushed through and put up a solid time that I’m proud of.”
Anthony participated in the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter freestyle qualifying for the finals in both, with times of 57.00 and 52.50 seconds. Anthony felt that he performed solidly.
“Although they weren’t my best times, I felt that I performed strongly through my soreness from all the workouts,” Anthony said. “The team persevered and we are in a good position for the finals.”
Bathurst participated in the 200 meter and 100 meter freestyle qualifying for the finals in both, with times of 1:46.00 and 49.04 seconds. Bathurst performed solidly but felt he could have done better.
“I wasn’t entirely satisfied with my performance and I was somewhat sloppy,” Bathurst said. “However the rain and wind had an effect on everyone and we still persevered through that.”
In the girls meet, Stone participated in the 50 meter freestyle and the 100 meter freestyle with times of 26.38 and 59.11, placing 5th and 12th, and qualifying for the finals in both. Stone was not satisfied with her individual performance.
“I did not perform great today, but I fought through and qualified for the finals in both,” Stone said. “I am excited to improve my performance for Friday and the whole team is looking forward to it.”
Barnhill placed second in the 100 meter butterfly and third in the 100 meter backstroke qualifying for the finals in both with times of 1:00.15 and 1:01.00 respectively. Barnhill was happy with her times and is looking forward to the finals.
“ It was really windy during the backstroke and the flags messed up my stroke count into the walls,” said Barnhill. “However, I swam well and will fix that mistake for the finals.”
Both the boys and girls swim teams are 2-1 and will participate in the SBI finals on Friday against 10 teams at 3 pm. Senior captain Danielle Gonzales is proud of the team’s performance so far this season and looking forward to Friday.
“As usual, costa swim is off to a great start to dominate Bay league,” Gonzales said. “We have a very strong team with lots of depth thanks to the new freshman swimmers and hopefully we can make a great run this year.”
Leave a Reply