The boys’ swim team has had numerous achievements this year including defeating the Bettendorf Bulldogs and, most recently, qualifying for the state competition.
But while their season career started hot, it ended in an unfortunate turn of events.
This season was the first in 10 years the Pleasant Valley boys’ swim team beat Bettendorf. This and other accomplishments were due in part to the hard work of the captains–Kevin Burke, Jacob McCredie, Noah Streeter, and Spencer Clark–who drove the team to do the best they could.
“Our success this season is because of the time and effort put in,” said Clark. “The team was more driven than any other year I have been here.” Clark said he is grateful to the incoming freshmen who were dedicated and enthusiastic to swim.
Taking Bettendorf down was the first of many feats. Kevin Burke broke his own 50 yard freestyle record. The team won the district championship and MAC championship, which was “something we’ve been aiming at for a very long time,” said junior Nate Martell. For the first time in the school’s history, the boys’ swim team had a banner in the gym.
The success of MAC also created another opportunity for the team. For the first time ever in school history, the nine boys from the swim team qualified to compete at state. The entire team was excited for the opportunity for a chance to prove themselves and show their hard work at a higher level.
State did not play out as smoothly as the boys had planned, however; PV was disqualified from two events during the meet. The team was disqualified from the 400 free relay because one person left early. That name was reported incorrectly by state officials, who announced the missing person was a swimmer who was currently in attendance. When scoring papers were released, the team was able to discover the officials’ error, which had disqualified the incorrect swimmer.
The 200 medley relay didn’t result in better news for the team. The event didn’t contribute to PV’s overall score because the team mistakenly used a wedge–a device used to help push off the pool wall without slipping. This disqualification came as a surprise to PV swimmers, who were uninformed of state rules that would prevent the use of wedges.
The team remained positive after these events and wanted to focus on doing their best in the remaining races.
“Everyone’s hard work paid off in the end, and I couldn’t be happier with how the season went,” said Clark. The team has high hopes for next year, and will use all they learned from their time at state to help them.”
