Sharks of the Pool: A look back at the boys varsity swim team’s season

Standing in line in front of underclassmen while waiting to pile pasta on his plate and pour cold chocolate milk into his cup, senior Syl Brundige was surrounded by his varsity swim teammates. Following the traditional seniors-first policy, Brundige got his meal and sat down at a long dining room table at a teammate’s house.

Brundige and his teammates were holding a team dinner a couple of days before their Sunflower League Championship meet at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center. 

Head Coach Wiley Wright had told them only days before that the boys would likely earn first place at the meet. The team has a surplus of strengths in each stroke, according to Brundige, which sets them apart from other competitors.

After watching the final relay at the Feb. 3 Sunflower League Championships, the team gathered together to hear the final scores announced. Before the announcer had rattled off of all the schools, Wright yelled out to his swimmers.

“Seniors, get ready, we’re going to give you the trophy.”

The boys swim team earned first place at the meet, securing a spot for state on Feb. 15-17.

“It felt good taking pictures with the [first place] trophy and knowing [our name] will go up on the banner,” Brundige said. “We have one of the strongest teams and we knew within our league that we were the ones to beat.”

Brundige attributes the success of the swim season to Wright, as his support has encouraged Brundige and his teammates to work hard for state.

“He’s very funny and messes with us a lot,” Brundige said. “When you do something good you can see he’s proud of you which is very encouraging.”

While preparing for state, the boys team has had to swim through the poor air quality at the East pool. Similar to swimmers at the SMAC pool — where air quality concerns have risen — East swimmers have struggled with contracting a dry cough.

Junior Jack McClelland calls the symptoms “chlorine cough.” 

“Most pools have bad air quality so it’s not an uncommon thing for swimmers,” McClelland said.

As the team looks forward to state, held on Feb. 15-17 at the Capitol Federal Natatorium in Hummer Sports Park-Topeka, they hope to place in the top two schools. 

“We joke around a lot but we can get serious when we need to,” McClelland said. “We have senior leaders that will step up and just do what they need to do and when they need to do it.”