Varsity Swim defeated MacDonald High School 260-42 on Friday, March 13, in the team’s second swim meet of the season. Varsity Boys won 126-17 and Varsity Girls won 134-25, resulting in a victory with a combined score of 260-42. Head Coach Will Lieu says one of his major accomplishments was being able to gather almost all of the 50 swimmers, including junior varsity, in his team to attend. He notes that their collective presence helps motivate the swimmers when competing.
“I have a lot of students who are in other extracurriculars, and I was able to get at least 98% of my swimmers here, which is not bad,” Lieu said. “I’m glad that everyone is here cheering for their teammates and showing team spirit.”
Sophomore Rishit Tiwari adds that another achievement was how multiple swimmers swam fast enough times to qualify for CCS. All six of MVHS’s relay A teams qualified for CCS, while freshman Helena Poon, junior Jasper Qiu, junior Angela Poon, freshman Ellie Lu and sophomore Sakurako Kobayashi qualified individually.
Senior Miya Sakurai adds that Lieu had a big role in the overall improvement of the swim team due to his provision of consistent workouts and conditioning. She notes that this has helped people get into shape early in the season.
“Coach Will has been pretty consistent with our workouts,” Sakurai said. “ Plus, we have a lot of enthusiastic incoming freshmen and people who are really looking to improve their times and qualify for CCS. So that’s huge for our season this year.”
Lieu and Tiwari both say that one of their main goals this season is to advance up a league. Lieu notes MVHS was formerly in the De Anza League, which he notes is the stronger league, when he coached here previously in 2021 and 2022. Ever since his break they have moved back down to the El Camino League, which he adds is the weaker league.
“We won against MacDonald, so I’m proud of them for that,” Lieu said. “MacDonald did their very best, and they’re still a team that’s building. They don’t have a lot of swimmers right now, so I wouldn’t count them out. Once they have a full team they’re gonna do well.”
