This year the swim team is in a great position to go far. Coach Colby Webb is super excited for the season and can not wait to see what everyone has to bring to the team. With many new swimmers, there are a lot of new opportunities to see greatness from the team.
Sophomore Landon Lemison, who swims freestyle, predicts that this season’s team will do great. According to Lemison, “We have already had three meets and we started strong, we have all been doing pretty good so far.” Bakersfield Christian High School is a team that Lemison feels will take a lot of work to beat because of the strong aquatic players that the school contains. One of Lemison’s biggest goals is to beat one of the records that are hanging in Ridgeview’s gym. He is determined to work at that goal whether he meets it this year or in the future. Lemison is going to ensure that he keeps working on this goal by continuing to go to practice and work on his skills outside of practice as much as he can. So far he has swam a 100 freestyle, 200 Free, 4×50-meter freestyle relay, and 4×100-meter freestyle relay. Lemison is a hard worker and implements that into every practice. According to Lemison, “Giving it my all during every practice and taking all the notes that our coaches give us during our practice.”
Senior Audrey Martinez, also believes that the team this year is very strong. Her goal this year is to PR as low as she can. According to Martinez, “To PR in swim it is really hard because you have to put in a lot of effort just to shave off a single second.” She will ensure that she meets this goal by working hard in practice and putting in extra effort. She will make sure achieves this goal by practicing purposefully and putting in additional effort on her own. Her motivation comes from always wanting to be the best she can. Martinez participates in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter, the 4×50-meter relay, and the 4×100-meter relay. Martinez prepares for a big meet by envisioning the race in her head and ensuring that her mentality does not get in the way of her performance on the day of the meet. She too feels like her team is very supportive and is a great example of what a team should look like.
According to Webb, a typical swim meet consists of races and eleven events. Each event is associated with a different swimming style and a different length. One goal the team has this season is to improve as well as for every season. The team would like to make it to the Valley Championship and then progress and move on to the State Championship. According to Webb, “As a coach, my goal always is to win league. I’m hoping for a league championship, that’s always my first priority.” The team is great, the team works hard and is very subjective to learning. The team is in a great position to win a league championship and accomplish their biggest goal. Webb states, “We have our best shot at it this year.” Strengths that the team has acquired are having a strong relay team, really good sprinters, and a few good flyers. A huge strength for the team especially is their spirit and mutual support. Bakersfield Christian High School and Frontier High School are two of the toughest opponents that the team will face this year. Both teams have very experienced swimmers and overall high quality team. With the support of the team and the great spirit of the team they can beat them and continue to do great throughout the season.
