Brooke Hammarskjold | Print Editor

This past weekend, members of the boys and girls swim teams continued this season at the CCS trials and championships. Only the swimmers that qualified for the trials at the League Championships attended them on Friday, May 16. Of these swimmers only sophomore Jocelyn Chan continued on to the CCS Championships on Saturday, May 17.

In order to qualify for the trials, swimmers or relay teams had to place in the top 16 for their event at league finals. “It’s definitely a very challenging meet, there is a lot of strong swimmers, a lot of depth amongst all the high school programs around here, so it’s an exciting and tough meet,” Head Coach Matt Jones said. From there, only one Menlo swimmer, sophomore Jocelyn Chan made it to the CCS finals, a rare feat in the history of the Menlo swim program. “We scored points for the first time since 2009 for the girls, which is very impressive,” senior captain Ryan Hammarskjold said.

This season, the team adjusted to new coach Matt Jones well and were able to maintain a level of success throughout the season that they hope to maintain through the coming years. “I think we are adjusting well to a new coach, and that the program is headed in the right direction,” senior John Wilson said. The team matured greatly over the course of the season not only as athletes but as people as well. “I think a lot of people learned to take swimming seriously and also have fun with it,” Hammarskjold said.

Looking ahead, the Menlo swimmers hope to solidify the program, attract new athletes and grow as a team. “Moving forward, for next year, I think we made some great strides as a team but I think we can come together more as a team and get a little bit more participation and dedication with practices and such,” Jones said. With their season behind them, Jones and his athletes will surely maintain their success in the seasons to come.