Varsity swim culminated its season on Saturday, April 29, when the Panthers competed in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) finals at Menlo Atherton High School. Leading up to the championships, girls’ and boys’ varsity participated in PAL trials on April 24 and 25 to secure placements. By the time finals came around, all swimmers were determined to showcase their strongest performances.

“There were feelings of excitement and nervousness — you could tell it was the championships,” junior Karena Huang said. “Everyone showed up and was ready to do their best and try to win their races.”

The Panthers’ competitive spirit seemed to pay off. Led by freshman Alexa Chang and senior Sofia Kim, who medaled in their races, girls’ varsity earned a fourth place ranking with 270 points. Boys’ varsity secured a fifth place finish, contributing to a total score of 178 points. The finish was an improvement for the boys from last year, when they finished in seventh place.

“I looked at the results from last year and you can definitely tell the boys have improved a lot,” coach Stephanie Lee said. “It’s a really good feeling, they worked really hard this season and are a really good group of kids so it’s nice that they can be rewarded.”

Burlingame was the inevitable underdog at the meet, facing high schools like Menlo Atherton, Carlmont High School and Woodside High School that have twice the team size. A larger roster means more swimmers in events, which ultimately affects rankings and the odds for a Burlingame victory.

“On average our speed is on par with those other teams but they just have so many more swimmers so they can fill up every single event,” Huang said. “We kind of lost on the fact that we didn’t have as many swimmers, that was probably the most challenging part.”

Nonetheless, the Panthers rose to the occasion, as exemplified by the girls’ varsity relay teams. In their respective races, all three relay teams — including the 200-meter freestyle relay, which finished in third place — dropped time and qualified for the Central Coast Section (CCS) championships.

“I was really surprised when our [relay] times dropped because I already thought they were really fast,” Huang said. “We even had a different lineup during finals since not everyone could swim but we still ended up doing really well which shows everyone is improving and working hard.”

But the season isn’t over. Next, selected swimmers will advance to CCS trials and finals on May 9, 10 and 11, including Kim, Chang, Huang, sophomore Catherine Kwong and a number of girls’ and boys’ relay teams. Freshman Justin Chiang, who was the only freshman selected to swim in his event at finals, was only a few seconds away from the CCS cut-offs.

“I wasn’t really expecting [CCS qualification] but it would have been nice,” Chiang said. “I know it’s kind of out of reach but I’m still happy… I got a few best times in the [50-meter freestyle] and [100-meter freestyle].”

While a number of swimmers plan to participate in the playoffs , PAL finals marked the end of the season for most of the Panthers. Looking back, Huang says it’s apparent that the spirit and team mentality has strengthened since the beginning of the season.

“In every race there was at least one or two Burlingame swimmers cheering [at PAL finals],” Huang said. “We can tell there was a lot of community and the team has become much more cohesive throughout the season.”