Sounds of splashing water and a chorus of cheering filled the Windsor High School natatorium on March 8 as the boys swim team took to the pool. In only their second meet of the season, the Wizard boys are already making waves in the 4A state rankings.
“It’ll be a cool environment … the team will be in that race environment. It’ll kind of mimic our championship meet format, so we can kind of get them exposed early to that,” assistant coach Grant Sloan said. This is Sloan’s second year coaching this team.
The Wizards emerged victorious among the eight invited teams with an overall score of 322 points.
Windsor took home wins in the 100-yard freestyle with a 50.81 by Elias Everitt (Severance), and in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:36 (K. Sanger, P. Tschetter, D. Hansen, J. Abram).
The Wizards had strong showings in the other two relays, with a third place finish in the 200-yard medley relay, with a time of 1:50.02 (E. Everitt, O. Wakkinen, E. Hasecoster, KSanger) and second place in the 400-yard freestyle relay with 3:35.63 (E. Everitt, P. Tschetter, D. Hansen, J. Abram).
Additionally, the 11-dive Windsor High School pool record was broken on Friday, March 7, by Aidan Favela from Fort Collins High School with a score of 485.70. Noah Abram from Severance, competing for Windsor, took third with a score of 297.
The Wizards have had a sensational start to their season, with 11 swimmers having qualified for state within the first two meets of the season.
“We usually start off with kind of easier stuff, but we’ve been pounded since week one with really hard practices,” Kaden Sanger (12) said. Sanger is one of four captains this year.
When the boys hit the water, however, their success isn’t the only think to take note of — it’s also their spirit. The boys swim team has a long history of camaraderie and tradition, forging a bond that shows in each meet.
“It’s a really good community. There’s a lot of traditions that we have that I really enjoy. We really push ourselves … we’re always cheering for each other, and we’re always pushing each other,” Oliver Bilotte (11) said. This is Bilotte’s third year on the boys swim team.
Last year, the Wizards team won its conference championship and was runner-up at the 4A state championship. This year, the boys will compete in a different conference in order to make it more localized to northern Colorado.
“We have a really good built-up team here, and I really like being a part of it,” Sanger (12) said.
With winning in mind, the Windsor boys swim team pushes closer every day to a conference repeat.
