SEATTLE - O’Dea’s swim team ended the regular season with a 3-4 record, with a key late-season victory over rival Eastside Catholic. The team now enters the postseason hoping to make a run at Metros, and districts, and compete at state
After the mediocre record this season, with early season struggles due to sickness and many members gone at Encounter, a school retreat, they made the best of it and turned it around ending with some crucial wins.
“We dropped a couple meets we shouldn't have dropped, and that kind of put a chip on the team's shoulder to come back and finish strong,” said junior Alec Olson.
(Senior Swimmers)
With the regular season not deciding much of the team's fate, the team had to go in motivated at the swimming Metro playoffs and coach Tom Schutte did just that. The team performed amazingly, earning 2nd place and most participants setting PR’s.
“For Metros, our mentality was, in the words of Coach Schutte to 'Blow the roof off of the building.' Most people set PRs or swam as well as they had been swimming,” said junior Wyatt Sanford.
The team is projected to get 5th in state and nine swimmers will participate after their great individual season earning them a spot in the postseason. The swimmers that will be moving on to state include Alec Olson, August Pierce, Prentice Sanders, Nick Behrens, Maks Karman, Sameer Gowda, Connor Delaney, Shea Skarda, and Torsten Schenck.
The team's culture is represented through the ways it has overcome challenges with absences and sickness while still working even harder and still supporting each other even when a person might not be participating.
The culture was put into words by a member of the swim team saying, “I would use the word supportive or gritty," Sanford said.
Come and support the swim team on February 21st and 22nd @King County Aquatic Center.
Talan Scott
Irish Sports network
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