Senior Asher Friedman is the honorable mention for upperclassmen of the year. He plays soccer and lacrosse, and is also committed to play lacrosse at Oberlin. 

Friedman starred on the soccer team this year as a center mid. Against Los Altos in the final game of the regular season, Friedman scored a goal in the final minute to put Paly ahead 2-1, helping them secure the league title. 

“I had an opportunity to score a game winner against Santa Clara, sadly I missed, but my coach told me that good things were to come in the future,” Friedman said. “Against Los Altos when I scored, it really meant a lot to me because we won as a team and we fought hard the entire game”.

Despite a heartbreaking loss in the CCS playoffs, Friedman helped the team achieve a strong record of 11-5-3. Additionally, Friedman is starring on the lacrosse team as a captain, averaging 2.3 goals per game and leading the team in assists, with an average of 2 per game. Friedman, who is committed to Oberlin College to play lacrosse, is the leader of the offense on the team. 

“I do not like being that guy that has to tell people what to do, I much prefer to lead by example,” Friedman said. “Being a leader, you have to show up and give a hundred percent which challenges me to be a better player and person.”

Friedmans leadership and skill on both the lacrosse and soccer teams are what earned him this award. He encourages his teammates to work hard, and comes to practice every day with a smile. At each game, he gives his all for his teammates no matter what the score is. 

When people think of swimming at Paly, usually one name comes to mind for most, as there has been no one as dominant as captain Ethan Harrington within these last couple of years. He’s broken numerous records at Paly. He’s captured multiple CCS Championships. He’s even a individual state champion. The resume he’s built with the numerous accolades and honors here at Paly making him strongly deserving of being Viking’s male upperclassman athlete of the year. 

Harrington’s name is riddled all over the Paly freestyle swimming records, currently having the fastest 50 yard, 100 yard, and being a part of the fastest 200 yard and 400 yard medley relays. The only freestyle record he couldn’t obtain was the 200 yard freestyle record held by former Viking and Stanford recruit, Alex Liang. 

Harrington even holds two CCS records, breaking his own 50 yard freestyle record this past CCS championship, as he swam a 19.57 in the final, with everyone coming a second after him. This led to him becoming a two time CCS champion, but that wasn’t the only CCS record he broke that meet, as he swam a 43.24 in the 100 yard freestyle. He ended up winning all of his races that meet, winning by a huge gap. He looks to protect his championship in the upcoming State Championship, as he won last year swimming a 19.85 in the 50 yard freestyle and a 43.60 in the 100 yard freestyle.

“It’s a great honor to be able to hold all of those records,” Harrington said. “It’s great to see my names all over the record book, but it’s even a greater honor to be a state champion.”

Since the 2022 State Championship meet, Harrington has improved on his times, becoming even faster, posting times of 19.45 in the 50 yard freestyle and 42.92 in the 100 yard freestyle, being some of the fastest times across the country. However, Harrington believes he has many areas he can still polish, believing he’s not the best version of himself yet. 

“I think I need to improve on my overall strength and my underwater turns when approaching the second wall,” Harrington said. 

Harrington does not only help Paly in the pool, but also from the sidelines, as he encourages his team through the lens of a captain.

“Being a captain is fun,” Harrington said. “It’s like the team I’ve been on for four years and now it’s my turn to lead it. I help keep the team spirit friendly, as I’m a friendly guy, as I cheer for everyone, wishing for the best for them when they swim.”

However, with all of the things Harrington has accomplished, is not done without all of his hard work and dedication to the sport he has. 

“I did three morning practices a week, beginning at 4:40 in the morning, having nine practices in total,” he said. “I think I do 19 hours of swimming a week, all year round, so I dedicate a lot of time to swimming.”

According to Swimcloud, Harrington is ranked third in the state of California, and the 38th best swimmer in the country for the class of 2023. He plans on continuing his swimming career at the next level, as he plans to stay home as he’s committed to swim at Stanford University next year. 

“I chose Stanford because it has a very good swim program and very good academics,” he said. “So it’s the best of both worlds. I’m very excited to be swimming there next year.”

Below are some fun memes about our featured upperclassmen of the year!

Gallery • 4 Photos

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