Paly girls swim and dive had yet another dominant season, stacking up numerous accolades and making CCS history. In terms of achievements, it doesn’t get any better than swim and dive at Palo Alto High School. This year alone, Paly won both girls’ and boys CCS in the highest possible division for the first time in CCS history. For senior Katie Spitzer, their last year ended on a high note, no team has ever achieved such dominance as Paly has this season
“It really was a historic year,” Spitzer said. “We couldn’t have wished for a better way to end the season and our high school careers.”
The Vikings were undefeated the entire season in sectional meets, including the CCS championship. The only meet they didn’t win was the highest division of state championships. They won every single dual meet they swam in, SCVAL league championships, and open division CCS championships, and placed in the top 10 in the state, including private school teams recruiting talent.
“Our dual meet performances were good throughout the year, despite us not resting or wearing technical racing suits for any of them,” Spitzer said. “For many of them, we even had morning practices before.”
As for individual performances, there was no shortage of feats. The 200-yard freestyle relay touched first at CCS, and the 200-yard medley relay placed top 3 in the entire state, led by Romy Kirby, Hannah Oh, Llew Ladomirak, and Sabrina Meyers.
“Our relays were super fun this year,” Oh said. “We train with each other year-round so our team chemistry was top notch, which definitely gave us the edge.”
The 400 freestyle relay at CCS championships was one of many highlights of the year, as they needed to place top 3 in order to win. Llew Ladomirak led off, followed by Romy Kirby, Katie Spitzer, and Sabrina Meyers in anchor. They ended up touching the wall third, securing their championship win by just 4 points over Archbishop Mitty.
“The 400 freestyle relay was definitely very high energy, we knew what we needed to do, and ultimately we succeeded,” Spitzer said. “It was a huge weight off of our shoulders, and it was followed up by our boys team also securing the win, so it was really an awesome moment.”
With a strong group of seniors graduating next season marks a turning point for the program. The juniors, including Hannah Oh, will need to step into bigger roles and carry forward the legacy built this year.
“It’s a daunting task to have to fill the senior’s shoes next year.” Oh said, “We are going to have to work hard these coming months to continue our legacy.”
