On Saturday, May 3, the varsity swim team ended its season at the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) finals, held at Menlo-Atherton High School. Both boys’ and girls’ teams placed 5th in the meet, with scores of 189 and 214 points, respectively. But coach Traci Kreppel said the real success mainly came from the individual results.
“For me, it’s more about the individual performances. Everyone did so great. So it doesn’t need to be ranked against how they did compared to the other schools,” Kreppel said.
Junior Catherine Kwong was among the swimmers who stood out with strong individual showings at the meet. After placing second in the 100-yard butterfly and fourth in the 100-yard backstroke, she qualified to compete in the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships from May 8-10.
“I was just really relieved since throughout the whole season, I was a little stressed about it, since I was in kind of a slump. I was really glad to be able to qualify,” Kwong said.
Sophomore Alexa Chang also delivered a standout performance at PAL finals, clinching first place in the 100-yard backstroke and setting a personal record of 55.91 seconds.
“For the beginning of the season, I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere close to my personal best, and then I just pulled that up at the end, so I felt really, really good,” Chang said.
In addition to Kwong and Chang, sophomore Justin Chiang also qualified individually for CCS, along with the boys’ and girls’ relay teams. Sophomore Samuel Foo, who competed in the CCS championships as a part of the boys’ relay team, said the highlight of the event was racing alongside his teammates.
“The most important thing was we had fun. It was just a great experience to be with my teammates together,” Foo said.
At the CCS championships, Chang continued to be a top contender, placing fourth in the 100-yard backstroke and twelfth in the 100-yard butterfly. For both events, she qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Championships from May 15-17. This marks Chang’s second time qualifying for the CIF Championships, and she is the sole swimmer from Burlingame to compete in them this year.
“That felt pretty good. I really wanted to make it back again, because it was a really fun and fast meet. I was kind of worried that I wouldn’t make it back,” Chang said.
Reflecting on the season as it comes to a close, Kwong said the team’s bond has improved since the start of the season.
“I think everyone did really well [at CCS]. We were all super supportive, cheered behind each other’s blocks. And I think compared to the beginning of the season, we were able to come together a little bit better and be a bit more cohesive,” Kwong said.
While Kreppel wants to see continued improvement in the team, she said she is satisfied with the progress made this year.
“The success that the kids had this year and their improvements just meant a lot to us as coaches, and it was just really nice to see everybody working really hard all the way to the end of the season,” Kreppel said.
