The boys’ swim team hosted the IHSA Sectionals meet this past Saturday. They finished in sixth place as a team, qualifying seven members for the IHSA State meet in Evanston this coming  Saturday.

The mustangs had a strong showing at the meet this year, with cuts in six events as well as a second place performance from senior and diver Alec Marquardt. The meet opened with the 200 medley relay, in which seniors Michael Chan, Janssen Gamilla, junior Sam Kastan, and freshman Jeddrick Gamilla placed second and earned their State time. Janssen Gamilla placed sixth in the 200 IM and third in the 100 fly, earning himself two individual State cuts in the process. Kastan suited up and took fourth in the 50 free for his individual cut.  The 200 freestyle relay of seniors Ben Forbes, Janssen Gamilla, Michael Chan, and junior Sam Kastan qualified for State with a sixth place finish. And in one of the last races of the meet, senior Michael Chan won the 100 back and qualified for State himself.

In swimming, the Sectionals team is made up of the top two athletes, or top relay team in each event, decided by the coaches and by times previous in the season. In order to qualify for State, an athlete or relay needs to beat the qualifying time set by IHSA. State cuts are adjusted every so often according to how fast the previous State meet was in each event, meaning that the cuts typically get faster and harder each year.

In this last week of practice, the State team will lower the intensity in practice to prepare for their last meet, a process called tapering. Some of the athletes tapered into the Sectionals meet to ensure they qualified for State, but those who didn’t have extra time to cut off of their races. The team looks to improve on their placement from last year and leave another successful season behind them.