By Harlan Rose

[email protected]

Aiming to win, MHS’ JV boys and girls swimming team dove into the JV championships on Jan. 17 at Kalani High School. After dedicating hours to practicing and improving their technique, the boys team successfully secured first place overall, while the girls team took home third.

“Fantastic, (the championships) went really well, it was a good experience for all of us,” said Freshman Nicholas Shaw. Freshman Emily Travis added, “The team prepared us well and we got to cheer on our whole team. We were all into it and it went pretty good, better than I expected.”

In order to prepare for the championships, the team practiced for two hours every day after school, working to fine-tune their technique under the direction of their coaches. “We did do a lot of preseason and the coaches talked to us about it and in practice we would practice the race and everything and relays together. (They) really went down and critiqued us and we were ready for it,” said Travis. Freshman Artur Astakhov added, “(The coach) gave us some encouraging words and he just made us train and before the swim, he told us what we should work on during the swim.”

In addition to physical training, the swimmers had to work towards putting themselves in the right mindset to do well. “(I had to be) mentally prepared for it, because it’s a lot of mental (strain) when you’re looking at the people you’re up against,” said Shaw.

Their training and commitment paid off, as the boys team placed first overall at the championships. “It felt really good inside to know that everything we had been working for paid off and that we made it,” said Astakhov, who also placed first in the 100-meter butterfly relay. Shaw added, “It was just a really good feeling but also I just felt really humble to be there with all of them.”

The team also felt like they had the opportunity to grow closer and form bonds with one another. “The team, the high school team, they’re like family, I feel really welcome,” expressed Travis. “I was kind of intimidated because they were all older kids, but they were really welcoming. On the bus ride back from every meet, we sang the Alma Mater, like we’ll shout it on the bus, I loved that.”

Now that the championships have passed, the JV team is looking for ways they can improve their technique for next season. “I’ll probably improve small things, like small little improvements to my technique and endurance, just little stuff,” explained Shaw. Travis added, “Instead of the goal (being) overall to just get better, just (work on) the little details to get there, like working on little steps at a time to get there. The endurance, the technique, all of that to get there, instead of just the big picture.”

Alongside the JV team’s win, the varsity team gave it their all at the Oauhu Interscholastic Association championships, which took place on Feb. 6 and 7.