Quartz Hill has one of the best swim teams in the Antelope Valley, and they have had many stellar seasons in the past. As winter slowly comes to an end, swim season is just now beginning. This year’s swim team is very different from last year’s team because many of last year’s swim team members have graduated. Due to this loss, other swim teams around the AV feel that Quartz Hill will not be as successful as they were in the past. 

Regardless of these shortcomings, this year’s team still has superb swimmers such as senior Alistar Martin, senior Keith Karunaratne, and sophomore Sebastian Petho. On the girls’ team, talented swimmers such as senior, Angelina Michael, Emily Drossel, and Kiana Henriquez gives hope for Quartz Hill to have another successful season. 

Quartz Hill High School has always been dominant when it came to swimming. When asked about this year’s season, star swimmer Dylan Campbell replied, “I think we’re gonna do good this year, but I think we will struggle during our relays in CIF.” CIF, which stands for California Interscholastic Federation, is what many swimmers aim for during the season. After being asked what this year’s weak points and strong points could be, this year’s captain Keith Karunaratne replied, “This year is a very young team which is a weak point compared to last year when we had a lot of veterans, but it is also a strong point because the team has a lot of potential.” As Keith said, having young swimmers could be a good thing because it paves the way for future talented swimmers. Because of the number of swimmers the team lost last year, it could be difficult to achieve the same results as last year. 

Many new swimmers this year are eager to join the team. Kalea Knox, a new swimmer on Junior Varsity stated, “My goal for this year is to achieve varsity and also to get faster times on my events.” Every swimmer on the team has different goals; If you’re in Junior Varsity, you go for Varsity, and if you’re on Varsity you try to go for CIF or better. Nevertheless, the most important goal that we all share is winning. Keeping Quartz Hill’s Golden League title is a crucial goal this season. 

We have been the New England Patriots of the Golden League, constantly winning and losing on rare occasions. Although winning is important, experience and getting better is also very important. If you get last place and lose 5 seconds, it is better than winning 1st place and gaining 5 seconds. Gaining experience and speed throughout every race is always better than winning places. Best of luck to this year’s swim team and remember, grit is key.