Standing with heads held high on the podium, water still dripping from their eyes, the team clutches their hard-fought-for medals. This shiny trophy is the physical manifestation of all the early hours, countless laps, and heavy lifting the team had put in for months, and at the final meet of the year, the NSAA State Championships, the Boys Varsity Swim team clearly demonstrated their season-long commitment with an outstanding finish.

Throughout the meet, the boys’ team alone broke 6 school records– the 200 Medley Relay, 200 Freestyle, 200 IM, 50 Freestyle, 100 Butterfly, and 200 Free Relay– which is no small feat, not to mention the team’s overall 3rd place State finish: the highest in MN Swim history.

These achievements didn’t appear out of nowhere, however, but came as a culmination of hours of behind-the-scenes work, both in and out of the official season.

“It was really good to see [the boys’ team place 3rd]. We had had some conversations with some of the upperclassmen about what the goals for this season were, and how high we could place, and we knew going in we could be up there by the end of the season,” Coach Andy Cunningham said.

Cunningham had been preparing the athletes for this moment since the very start of the season, with the athletes who had state-qualifying times practicing separately from the rest of varsity, ensuring they’d be in peak condition come State.

“Our boys’ team posted our highest finish ever, so that was great. We had a great team this year, the best I’ve ever been a part of,” senior Matthew Brailita said.

Brailita broke 4 school records individually, as well as contributing to the 2 broken relay records. Additionally, he swam the ninth fastest time in Nebraska history in the 200 IM.

“I was pretty happy, especially because it was our school record,” Brailita said. “In prelims, I got first, but in finals, I got second, but I was happy with the time.”

But a 3rd place team finish isn’t created by just one person; points were contributed by numerous members, launching the team to the podium.

“We had some of our seniors really step up, like Jonas Judina, who went from being a good breaststroker to finishing fourth at state. Evan Cortez went from talking about making state to, all of a sudden, being a school record holder on a relay and making it back individually…Kyler O’Toole was our lone Junior individual score at state, and he went from middle of the pack of the top ten all time here, to beating his brother and sitting second,” Cunningham said. “Overall, the development and progression of a lot of our upperclassmen this year was really good to see.”

But not only did the experienced upperclassmen help make this dream come true, but across the board, in all grade levels, athletes rose to the challenge, working together to place in this record-breaking meet.

“We had [score] contributors in all four grade levels, and we had three big contributors who made it individually as freshmen and scored points. It is pretty hard to do, having people score points across all four grade levels,” Cunningham said.

Having three freshmen scoring points at any meet, let alone at the State meet, is unusual and shows exciting promise for the team in years to come.

“[Being a freshman at state] was kind of odd, because you’re swimming with mainly juniors, seniors, and some sophomores. There aren’t many freshmen who are at the level, but it was very fun, and everybody was really welcoming,” freshman Cohen Carpenter said.

The leadership and inclusion of the upperclassmen towards the freshman is a defining part of what makes MN swim so accomplished; the upper-classmen, and captains particularly, worked hard to ensure the team would be a comfortable and fun space, while remaining diligent in their practice.

“I had to kind of find my way through being a co-team captain with Arnav, but we just worked through it together. We had a lot of team hangouts, and we pushed everyone in practice,” Brailita said. “It was really fun to lead the team and all the new faces that we had, and I’m happy I’ve left a kind of legacy here.”

This effort towards inclusion did not go unnoticed by those new to the team, who, although often coming in without knowing others, left with a strong sense of community.

“I think [the upperclassmen] were really good leaders. They pushed me a lot… but they were very motivating, and in general, I feel like they made me a better person both in and out of the water,” Carpenter said.