Swim team splashes opponents out of the water

By Andrew Huynh

Amidst all of the heavy rain and floods, the Piedmont Hills swim team began their season with a lot of opportunity to practice.

“The season started about a month ago and it has been a lot of fun,” says Varsity swimmer junior Derek Tang.  “It feels like I’ve been swimming my whole life but it has only been five years.”

Although previously in the A-League, the team moved to the B-League because of their performance at last season’s league finals.

“We were not doing well in A-League last year,” states Tang.  Most experienced swimmers had already graduated and it was the team’s first year practicing in a new environment.

The team still practices at Independence High School’s pool since the Piedmont Hills’ pool remains under construction.

“Our pool isn’t done yet, even though they told us it would be finished around January,” explains Junior Varisty swimmer Aileen Chen.

Despite the challenge of not having their own pool to practice in, the Piedmont Hills’ swimmers still hope to improve this season and set some personal records.

“My goal this season is to improve my times and hopefully improve on my butterfly, which is my worst stroke,” comments Chen.

Other swimmers hope to make it to CCS (Central Coast Section).

“Everyone seems to get along well,” says Varsity swimmer junior Daisy Kamp “We are one big family.”

The swim team had its first scrimmage on Feb. 23 against Evergreen High School. The scrimmage served as a practice meet for the athletes, so no points were awarded on either side.

“The first scrimmage went better than expected because Evergreen typically beats us,” says Kamp.  “We came pretty close to winning for once.”

Their first real meet was held on March 9 against Independence and Lincoln High School. Our swimmers came out with a win against both schools.

“It was pretty different since we were used to losing last year in A-League,” laments Tang.  “We used to be happy with not being last place.”

For the first time in a while, Piedmont Hills managed to take the lead in most of the events, especially the relays.

With a strong start to the season and more meets to come, Piedmont Hills can hopefully expect to see many CCS qualifiers this year and reclaim their position in A-League.