Splashing, cheering, and speed together helped the Kennedy men’s swim team place 11th overall at state. The team came together to end their season strong and some individual swimmers did well personally at the meet.

“Top place finishers were Brennan Urbi, who finished sixth in the 50 freestyle and the 100 freestyle, and Stefan Kitos, who finished fifth in the state meet in the 100 breaststroke, 12th in the medley relay, and eighth in 200 foot relay,” Head coach Shawn Thomnsen said.

The men’s swim team had a strong season overall and did especially well at the district meet. Coach Thomsen was especially proud of the capstone the team had at districts which led to them to qualify for eight events at the state meet.

“This year what really helped was that we had a large squad of almost 60 members which is 15 more than last year,” Thomsen said. “It drives competition for spots on the district line up and ultimately makes times faster.”

In order to have such a successful season, lots of commitment and training was needed by the team. The teams training consisted of two practices a day, made up of swimming, weight lifting, and working along side Coach Lewis in the weight room.

“We work hard during that time. It really pays off towards the end when we start reducing the yardage and increase some of the drag resistance towards the end,” Thomsen said. “We follow a program we’ve put in place to make that district meet as successful as it has been.”

The men’s swim team placed 11th out of 37 other teams that competed at state. Though the men’s swimming team changes from year to year, the intense training and dedication pays off with successful seasons and placements at state each year.

“The season went really well. We had a good number of qualifications for state and did really at the meet,” Thomsen said.