The Kaiser High School JV swim season recently concluded, and the Championship season is reaching its peak of excitement.
During the West and East Championships, the varsity boys team clinched first place despite being two swimmers short. They also surpassed the old 2018 200-meter freestyle relay record for Kaiser, with the new record standing at 1:32.80, beating the former record of 1:33.08. At the OIA state finals, the boy’s team secured second place.
James Kunihiro, a JV swimmer who joined this year, had a rewarding experience with the swim team. “It was the best, most exciting extracurricular activity I have ever done,” he remarked. “The most difficult challenge I had to overcome this season was staying consistent. Coming to practice and staying motivated was the struggle.”
Sophomore Tim Lorge, who has been swimming for four years, contributed to the record-breaking relay win. He was also last year’s 100m Breaststroke OIA champion. In the off-season, he plans to continue swimming with the club, hit the gym, and incorporate running to enhance his endurance. One challenge he faced was not going to the gym as often as he would have liked.
Senior Jonathan Ou, another member of the varsity team, completed his final year of swimming for Kaiser. Ou had to deal with an injured right shoulder at the start of the season and was concerned about falling behind and not being able to perform at his best.
He emphasized that while being physically strong and having good muscular endurance are crucial for a swimmer, mental fortitude and not giving up are equally important. He cherished the camaraderie and competitiveness of racing with his teammates during practice, something he will miss the most going forward.
On the other hand, the girls’ team placed third in both the OIA championships and the East-West Championships.
Senior Kimie Ginoza felt that Kaiser Swim reignited her passion for swimming, a sport she has been involved in for 11 years. She cherished the opportunity to make friends and meet new people.
She echoed the sentiments of many swimmers, emphasizing that the ability to persevere is a key factor in becoming a successful swimmer. “It’s sometimes really hard to not let your performance in one event or one day affect your other races, but if you get stuck on what you did wrong, it’s hard to perform well in the next event.”
(Jonathan Ou)
James Kunihiro, a JV swimmer who just started this year, had a very good experience with the swim team.
“It was the best, most exciting extracurricular activity I have ever done,” he said. “The most difficult challenge I had to overcome this season was staying consistent. Coming to practice and staying motivated was the struggle.”
One of the students who helped win the relay was sophomore Tim Lorge. He’s been swimming for 4 years. He was also last year’s 100m Breastroke OIA champion. In off-season, he plans on swimming at the club, going to the gym, and running to build endurance. A challenge he had to overcome was not going to the gym as often.
Another student on the varsity team, Senior Jonathan Ou, completed his last year of swimming for Kaiser. Ou had to overcome an injured right shoulder at the beginning of the season and was afraid he would be behind and wouldn’t be able to swim at his best.
He went on to say that what makes a good swimmer is being physically strong and having good muscular endurance, but not giving up mentally was a key factor as well. He enjoyed racing with his teammates during practice, which is what he is going to miss the most moving forward.
Meanwhile, the girl’s team placed third in the OIA championships and the East-West Championships.
Kimie Ginoza, a senior, believed that Kaiser swim reignited her enjoyment for swimming, which she’s been doing for 11 years. What she enjoyed the most was making friends and meeting new people.
She shares the sentiment with most swimmers that having the ability to persevere is a key factor in becoming a good swimmer. “It’s sometimes really hard to not let your performance in one event or one day affect your other races but if you get stuck on what you did bad it’s hard to do good on the next thing.’
Alyssa Tongg, a freshman who was promoted to varsity, had been swimming for four years before Kaiser. The most difficult part of swimming for her was balancing all of her activities, like school and extracurriculars. She enjoyed this season because of the community that was built.
“Everyone’s like a family and they’re always encouraging each other and cheering you on”
What all the Swimmers had in common was the camaraderie and care they had for each other.
Kimie said “I’m gonna miss the team because I’ll never have another team that supports each other or makes practice as fun as this one.
