The 2014 – 2015 season is shaping up to be the best season yet for the Bears in the pool. Not only has the team doubled in size, hitting about 75 members, but also three of those members are divers, which is something the team has been without for the last two season. These new divers (Maddie Chaloux, Jack Braglia and Simon Finlayson) will open up the possibility for many more points to be earned by Cambridge in large competitive meets and opening the door for Cambridge to bring home more hardware for their team scores. The first dive meet of the season will be coming up next weekend at the Marist Earl Bird Dive Invitational.
On Saturday, the Cambridge swimmers took to the pool in the first meet of the season at Dynamo against Chattahoochee, Alpharetta and Johns Creek for the Raider Relays. A tradition for opening the season, the Bears competed in a series of relays to get their competition groove back. About a third of the swimmers that competed for Cambridge on Saturday were new to the program and are showing significant promise.
The girls' team, being led by captains Lauren Holliday (senior) and Angela Ho (senior), started off strong with a state cut time in their first event of the day. Not only did the Medley Relay A-relay team (Nicole Detjen, Sydney Swenton, Caley Cramer, Katie Durden) swim a state cut time, but also the B-relay team (Darby Goodyear, Katie Fishman, Olivia Mahler, Alex Newcomer) swam under the state cut. The level of competition among the Cambridge swimmers will only mirror the level of competition within the region as the girls strive to be ones to represent the team at the state meet in February. Another relay that showcased the talent Cambridge is going to display for the season is in backstroke. In addition to Detjen and Goodyear, Cramer and Durden also proved valuable in the event. The 200 backstroke relay took second place in the event on Saturday, trailing some of the best in the region. Even though freestyle events are always among the most competitive of any meet, the girls' are proving to make waves in the 400 free relay as well, with Durden clocking in a split of sub-1:00 and followed by Cramer and Newcomer coming in with a 1:01 100-freestyle. With the meet only serving as a snapshot of things to come, things are looking very promising for the Bears on the girls' team.
The boys' team, being led by captains Noah Sannes (senior) and Sebastian Lara (senior), also had strong moments in the span of the day on Saturday. The girls' team was not the only ones looking strong in the Medley Relay. The boys' A-relay team (Jake Todd, Jason Yang, Ethan Nalwasky, Connor Christiansen) came out strong, with others eyeing spots on this coveted relay. For the boys' team, this was the only relay to not make the state cut last year, and you can see that the boys are out for blood in this event. There will not be another year that they will miss out on the opportunity to appear at state in this event. With other top swimmers, Erek Humm and Austin Daniel not present at the meet this weekend, they will add another element of competitiveness to this relay team. Kyle Daniel is another individual that could make his place in the relay for breaststroke. The Individual Medley will also shape up to be a strong event for the boys' team. Nalwasky and Todd were joined by others, including new swimmer Conor Wesolowski, that will make this event extremely competitive and provide another opportunity for the Bears to appear in individual events at state. Butterfly was another event that has been an inconsistent event for the Bears, but this year will certainly look different. Nalwasky, Todd, Wesolowski, Yang, and Adam Montes all look strong going into the regular season.
With each additional year, the Bears are increasing in depth, which provides more opportunities to score points in all events. Everything this season is different, in the best possible ways. The team is now training at the YMCA and has ramped up the difficulty of the workouts to increase fitness, strength and speed. The competitive schedule has also increased significantly, where the majority of competition will take place in some of the best pool facilities in the area against some of the toughest teams in the state. The team also has a new face on the coaching staff. Alongside head coach Lauren Hall, Nate Kraintz has taken on the assistant coaching position, which has not only benefitted the team in the pool but also in the morning dry land fitness work. When all of these ingredients are put together, you have a recipe for a challenging season with the biggest potential for stronger showings at Georgia Tech come February.
The Bears' swimmers will compete at Riverside Military Academy on November 19th against Riverside, Blessed Trinity and North Forsyth. On November 21st, the Bears will host their first meet of the season at Cumming Aquatic Center against North Springs and South Forsyth at 7:30 PM, and that meet will include swimming and diving events.
