Last Friday, April 1 our swim team took on Downey High School in Modesto for the first time, resulting in a very fun meet. 

To start off, Downey did not have any JV swim teams, so it was Pitman Boys vs Girls with a very close outcome. However, they did have two varsity teams, and Pitman fared well against them.

Pitman’s varsity boys team took the win by 50 points, and for those of you who do not know how scoring for swim works, it is based on placement in any given race. A first place is worth 6 points, second is worth 4, and third is worth 2. As long as you don’t get last, theoretically, you’d get points. One of our most successful events, the 500 freestyle, consisted of two personal best swims. Senior Lucas Yotsuya swam a 500 in 5:42 minutes, an 8 second personal best, along with a 200 yard freestyle in 2:07 minutes, another impressive time. In second place on varsity was freshman Mark Valgos, with an 18 second personal best at 6:14 minutes. Junior Colin Silveira swam a 1:16 minute for the 100 yard breaststroke, an impressive time. Varsity Swimmer Ethan Souza swam an impressive 26.3 second 50 free, and another equally impressive 1:19 minute 100 yard breaststroke. Senior Nathan Screen swam the 100 yard freestyle in a mere 55.73 seconds, and the 50 yard freestyle in 25.14 seconds. Junior Rick Vanderveen swam a 100 yard backstroke in 1:04 minute and a 200 yard freestyle in 1:59 minutes. Sophomore Jonathan Park swam the 100 yard freestyle in 57.5 seconds, a 50 yard freestyle in 25.9 seconds and the 100 yard butterfly in 1:09 minute. That pretty much wraps up the notable boys events.

The Varsity girls unfortunately lost by a mere 6 points, though it was still a fairly successful meet. Freshman Mia Peterson won her backstroke event pretty easily, and senior Lily Martin won her 500 freestyle without any troubles at all. 

Overall, the swim meet was very successful and fun, we can only hope that the PHS vs THS game comes out similarly. Come support us on Friday, April 8th at 3:30pm here at PHS!