For the first time in recent Country Day history, the varsity swim team qualified for the 200 medley relay in high-school varsity sectionals. The relay team was composed of seniors Claire Pinson and Lauren Larrabee and freshmen Molly Gherini and Amalie Fackenthal.
Gherini swam 50 meters freestyle, Fackenthal swam 50 meters backstroke, Pinson swam 50 meters breaststroke and Larrabee swam 50 meters butterfly.
“It’s honestly incredible,” Fackenthal said.
“It takes pretty fast time cuts to make it, and since this was our first-ever relay, it’s a major achievement.”
Long-time sole swim team member Pinson agrees. Pinson said that a major element in the team’s success is the lack of pressure or expectation.
“No matter how we swim or how we do, we are making Country Day history as the biggest team ever and the first Country Day relay,” Pinson said.
The bigger team requires more planning on Pinson’s part. She coordinates entries for the swimmers and lets them know of upcoming meets and the order of their performances among other duties.
Although the team qualified by three seconds, it came in fifth overall because they are technically only exhibition swimmers. That is, they are swimming for only a time, not points. Therefore, Country Day can swim at Rio American dual-home meets only as a third team.
The next possible meet for the team is at Rio Americano on Monday, April 6.
