Swimming

Despite the departure of junior William Walz, one of last season’s fastest swimmers, to Mills High School, many of Burlingame’s championship-caliber swimmers remain with the team and are as motivated as ever to claim victory. With an added surge of new swimmers ready to dive in, the expectation of strong performances in CCS remains the same. 

Co-captains and seniors Claire Guglielmi, Tarik Burlingham, Sam Hunter and Samantha Storey have taken initiative in mentoring the underclassmen swimmers. They have helped them master the basics of swimming, like diving, flip turning and finishing, along with guiding them through a swim meet. Both the captains and coaches have emphasized showing up and putting in the work as a unified squad. Because while it may be an individual race, everyone’s competing on one team. 

The coaching staff includes Traci Kreppel — who has returned after four seasons away from the pool deck — accompanied by Terry Horn. Kreppel, who started competitive swimming when she was five years old and now swims on a masters team, is motivated to help more swimmers make CCS time cuts and send more relays to the championship. With plenty of experience in the water, Kreppel can easily empathize with Burlingame’s swimmers — especially those who fully commit to the team.