Swim team steps up, Hargitt and Clark recieve honors

posted in: Sports, Winter | 0

With a growing program and high performance potential, the Pacific swimmers of the men and women’s teams have come into their season with high expectations in mind.

Scott Kimura, one of the senior captains for the men’s team said he has seen how the program has greatly grown and progressed from when he started as a freshman.

“In the past the men’s team had a smaller roster and now were up to 11 people,” said Kimura. “We’ve slowly been building up throughout the years and it’s been fun to watch. Not only do we have more numbers, but the quality of our athletes is really impressive too.”

For the team, individual results come from a strong team base where teammates rely on each other to push one another.

“People think that this is an individual sport, but it’s not,” said one of the team captains for the women’s team, Cherice Cochrane. “It comes down to how each individual performs for the team and how their success helps everyone out in the end.”

Cochrane said that this year the team is looking to have a good standing in conference especially considering recent achievements.

Freshman Michael Hargitt and sophomore Allison Clark took the Outstanding Swimmers award from the Northwest Invitational that they participated in Nov. 20.

Clark finished first in the 200-yard medley on Saturday and returned Sunday for another first place finish in the 400-yard individual medley.

Hargitt also had an impressive showing at the invitational finishing first in the 200-yard individual, the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard breaststroke.

With results like those that they had at the Northwest Invitational, which took place Nov. 20, the swim team is working towards their goals.

Cochrane cites recruiting and more serious swimmers to the reason for improvement in the program. For both captains, having a strong team bond is essential to overall success.

“We do a lot together from practices to team bonding,” said Cochrane. “I think a lot of swimmers like that aspect because it balances everyone out. Even if it’s an individual as a team we care that we’re up there on the podium.”

The men and women’s next meet takes place Jan. 14 against the Puget Sound loggers in Tacoma.

Sponsored

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *