Even as rain poured down at Arcadia High School (AHS), the Girls and Boys JV and Varsity Swim & Dive teams dove into the pool, warming up for their swim meet against South Pasadena High School (SPHS). The swim meet ended with wins from all four AHS teams, and the scores were Girls Varsity, 99-71; Boys Varsity, 108-58; Girls JV, 91-51; Boys JV, 115-34.

Beginning the swim meet promptly at 3:30 p.m., Arcadia started off strong, all four teams winning the 200 yd Medley Relay against South Pasadena. The first place swimmer of each team placed under 2:30, giving Arcadia a clear win for the first event of the day.

“I started swimming at the age of 3 and joined a team at the age of 5,” said freshman Matthew Ho, member of Boys Varsity Swim & Dive. 

“I think I did okay at this meet, [and even though] it was a bit rainy, we made it.”

The second event was much closer competition. In the 200 yd Freestyle, the Boys Varsity team won a close race, with lane 4 grabbing victory at 1:58. The runner-up, another Arcadian swimmer in lane 2, finished in exactly 2:00.

“I performed pretty well in my individual races [and] although I didn’t drop time, I still got 1st place several times!” Ho said enthusiastically.

During the 50 yd Freestyle, South Pasadena bounced back, winning against the girls JV and varsity teams. Lane 1 of the varsity girls finished first, earning 1st place at 25.1 and lane 4 right behind her at 25.8.

“I think that I performed well at the meet,” said sophomore Sophia Xu, a swimmer on the Girls Varsity team. “I got my 4th CIF cut for this season, so I’m excited for the upcoming meets!”

In an abrupt turn of events, the sound of thunder boomed in the distance and sent the swimmers of the boys JV scrambling out of the pool after completing the 100 yd Freestyle. The teams waited approximately 30 minutes out of the water, waiting to determine whether it would be safe to resume the swim meet.

“Although the meet conditions were not the best, we still had a total of 56 season-best swim times across the four divisions, which means that we are right on track for where we want to be at this point in the season,” said Head Coach Janice Clark. Evidently, the Apaches were not deterred by the poor weather.

“I placed first in the 100 yd Freestyle, and I [reached] a best-time for my 200 yd Individual Medley,” said freshman Minna Tan, member of Girls Varsity Swim & Dive. “I want to improve on my stamina because right now my endurance isn’t all that good…[but] I think I did well at this meet!”

At approximately 5:00 p.m., the swimmers dived back into the water, and would end up finishing the swim meet with no further weather complications.

“I’ve been coaching for a bit more than 30 years, [and] the qualities that make up a good team include having athletes with great attitudes who are willing to put in the work needed to improve, while still having fun and enjoying the experience,” said Coach Clark. 

“And having a strong balance of talents and depth so that the team can field strong entries in each of the different individual and relay events.” 

The team definitely showed off their abilities at the swim meet, holding up incredibly well under the poor weather conditions and swimming away with an amazing victory against South Pasadena. Keep up the good work, swimmers!

Photo courtesy of Arcadia DCI interns Rachel Saw and Lauryn Chao