Swimming and Diving Compete in League Finals

Last Saturday, the Prep League swim finals were held in Poly’s Aquatics Center. The finals looked a little different this year and the pool deck was a little quieter, restricting teams from congregating in the aquatics center. This year, teams had designated areas around Poly’s campus where they had to stay before and after their events. Additionally, the boys’ events were all together in the morning and the girls’ events were all together in the afternoon. The traditional team cheers on the deck were noticeably absent, but, as they say, the show must go on.

Poly hosted six other schools including Buckley, Chadwick, Flintridge Prep, Mayfield, Westridge, and Rosemead High School. Poly’s girls team had an uphill battle from the beginning facing much larger girls squads from Mayfield and Flintridge Prep. Because of their large-sized squads and the much smaller squads from the other schools, they were able to have three or four entries per event scoring more points. Despite the lopsided advantage in numbers, Poly’s girls team still finished third. Poly’s Katie H. ’21 secured the title of Prep League Champion with her win in the 50-meter free in a CIF-SS Division 3 automatic time. She also qualified for CIF in the 100-meter breaststroke.

Poly’s boys team showed their strength and depth and claimed the title of Prep League Champions for the first time since 2009! Coach Katsuyama ’90 said, “It was a great team effort and everyone scored points in the meet to secure the title over a strong, but not as deep, Chadwick squad.” The boys were also able to secure five individual league titles and one relay title.