Facing more than 20 teams, the Boys Swim Team finished 4th and at the State meet and the Girls Team finished 7th, concluding what Head Coach Mark Veneklasen said was a successful season.
Veneklasen pointed out that sophomore Camryn Kanaly took first in both the 200 Individual Medley (IM) and the 100 Backstroke, defending her title in the IM and improving from last year’s second place State finish in the backstroke. Having been in either the pool or weight room daily, Kanaly said the wins felt “very gratifying.”
“It felt really good,” Kanaly said. “I put a lot of work in. I work out every single day pretty much. I don’t really take recovery days.”
Going into the 200 IM, Kanaly was confident in her chance to defend the State title.
“I had been pretty far ahead from the get go, and I knew going into that race, unless I [disqualified], I was gonna win because there was a pretty big gap between me and the next person,” Kanaly said.
On the other hand, Kanaly said she felt “a lot more nervous” during the 100 backstroke.
“In the past, my 100 back has been very iffy,” Kanaly said. “I, a lot of times, will drop in prelims, and then add a bunch of time in finals, and so I was trying to avoid that. There was another girl who’s like a half second behind me, so I was with her for about the first 50, but then going into the last 50, I separated, so it felt very good and reassuring.”
With two more state wins under her belt, Kanaly reflected on her outlook for next season.
“I think I’ll be a lot more positive and confident going into the season with the knowledge that what I’ve been doing is working, and so I can continue doing what I’m doing,” Kanaly said.
In addition to Kanaly’s State titles, Veneklasen highlighted senior John Nguyen’s second place finish in the 100 Breaststroke. Nguyen said he felt satisfied with the season overall, having broken multiple school records.
“It went better than I expected,” Nguyen said. “I set a school record in the 100 breaststroke, and I helped set records in two relays.”
In addition, Nguyen was happy to see his team do well.
“I think the team actually did pretty good,” Nguyen said. “We, a lot of us, set new personal records. For example, my little brother (freshman Joseph Nguyen), he did really well. He cut five seconds from the beginning of the season. He almost broke the school record.”
Though the finish meant completing his high school swim career, Nguyen said the ending felt positive.
“I’m happy that I got to go through four years of high school and swim with a good team and good coaches, and got to meet new people,” Nguyen said.
For Veneklasen, the team’s consistent effort and strong leadership helped meet his expectations for the season and finish it “very well.”
