The Oxford High School swim team has recently wrapped up their season on a high note. At the state meet on Oct. 18 the boys and girls’ teams placed third overall. The season contained many highs, with senior Landon Schock’s outstanding seasonal performance being one of them.
“I feel like I have been very strong this season,” Schock said. “By the end of our mid-season meets I was already at my best times from the previous season and then I shattered those times at the North Half meet.”
Schock had a record-breaking season which included three broken records, the 200 individual medley record, 100 breaststroke record, and the 200 medley record. After the regular season Schock’s performance was nothing short of outstanding.
“At North Half, I broke the 200 Medley relay school record in the opening event of the meet,” said Schock. “I also broke the 200 IM school record going just over two minutes and the 100 breaststroke school record going 57 seconds.”
Schock talked about what he saw from others on the team and their overall progression throughout the tenure of the season. He saw amazing work ethic and feels certain this team will do great things in the future.
“This has been one of the best seasons that I have been a part of,” Schock said. “Many of our younger swimmers have shown up in big ways and we had a great year. The vast majority of swimmers cut times in their events and I am very proud of where we got this season. State went great, both boys and girls got third place and we had a bunch of great times. Both the preliminary round and finals went as expected and overall the team looked very strong.”
Senior and girls swim team captain Brooks Sipes was a leader for the team this season. She was on the podium in every meet she competed in.
“I am extremely pleased with my performance this season,” Sipes said. “I was able to drop time and place top three in all of my races which felt like a strong way to finish my high school career.”
Because Sipes was appointed captain, she felt a responsibility to be a leader and role model for the younger swimmers on the team. She helped keep the team focused and driven throughout the tenure of the season.
“I have seen a lot of perseverance on the team,” Sipes said. “It gets hard to stay encouraged at practice every day, but I believe the girls handled everything with grace and excellence and we were able to get the job done.”
Junior Darden Crowe was a key swimmer for the Chargers this year. She expressed how beneficial to the team it was to have a teammate like Sipes leading the way.
“Having a girl as cheerful, experienced, and encouraging as Brooks on the team brings such a fiery spirit to the team as a whole,” Crowe said. “Her experience in swimming as well as her compassion for the sport builds everyone up and ensures everyone is doing what they need to do to not only care for the team, but also themselves.”
State was a major success for the Chargers swim team this year. The team exceeded all expectations at this meet and placed third in the state.
“State this year was a very bittersweet moment because it was my last high school meet,” Sipes said. “Both the boys and the girls performed amazingly, and that was exciting to see. The overwhelming amount of support I received and saw being given to others was inspiring, to say the least.”
