Earlier this year, I wrote about how I expected our Lafayette boys swim team to perform. T0 be frank, I had very low expectations, as the swim team and dive team were low on personnel and were mostly inexperienced. I interviewed Colin Crisci on the topic for the article, and he predicted a good outcome for the season. I doubted him for saying this, but I have to admit when I am wrong. The swim team defied all my expectations and delivered Lafayette a great season. The team won the region and ended with 9 state qualifications for several events led by captains Braden Lee and Colin Crisci. Unfortunately, the Lafayette dive team did not share this success, and actually fell apart halfway throughout the season. Reed Smith continued to dive for Lafayette, but Josh Sims quit to pursue his dreams in high jump. This only makes the accomplishments of our swim team more impressive, however, as they were able to achieve a regional championship without any real production from the dive team. To give some background on this, the dive team is able to stack extra points on for the swim team that can only be gained through diving. If a team does not have a diving team, they will not be eligible for any. This exact reason costed one of Lafayette’s all-time great swim teams to fail in 2022, but it showed them how important one may be in the future. For this reason, a dive team was developed, but did not take off. They hope to make up for this lack of people in the future by adding gymnasts and hopefully adding a facility closer to Lafayette.

The Lafayette Swim Team was more than impressive this year. They carried a chip on their shoulders all year with a very inexperienced team, consisting of mostly freshmen. This gave me some doubts earlier, but they have been squashed. These freshmen state qualified in huge numbers, with roughly 4 qualifying. This sets our team up brilliantly for their senior year in 2027 and 2028. Not only that, but the performance of Jake Cantrell and Henry Gemerek were also ones to remember. Both swimmers had very little experience outside of summer swim but came in and made a huge impact. Jake Cantrell was one of the top swimmers on the team for every free style event and Henry was clinical in his relays. Both members of the team were huge in the success of the squad. Another large name, Braden Lee also swam well this year, landing him a state qualification time in breast. These three seniors made the retired swimmers of Joey Sims, Connor Rice, and Viktor Parks smile, as they had once had these roles for the team.

I must admit, I was wrong about the Lafayette Swim Team. I was expecting a slow, maybe even unsuccessful season. I expected to see some wins, but not a winning season. I expected to see only three state qualifications. I expected little but

received a lot. I am truly proud of my swimmers and deeply apologize for ever doubting them. Good job Rams. Keep up the good work.