Since the 2012-13 season the Albany Academy Swimming and Diving team has lost some huge contributors. Former seniors, especially Alex Dreisbach, earned Academy big points at sectionals by winning multiple events. In addition, the sectional champion and state qualifying 200 freestyle relay has lost three of its four members. While the team has lost some big contributors, it has a solid middle, perhaps one that can rival previous years, but it is still very much a rebuilding year for the team.
Head Coach Scott Young has said in practice that we “graduated a lot of points” and that this is a “rebuilding year” for the team. However, the Cadets are far from lacking talent. While it is true that this Academy team doesn’t have as many heavy hitters, in the season’s first meet against RCS there were still some notable victories. Most prominent among them, seniors and co-captains Chris Poole and Arka Rao both won all of their individual events while posting impressive times. Tucker Besch made his varsity début by winning the 100 yd. butterfly with an impressive time of 1:07.76. In addition, the team has a strong middle, according to co-captain Chris Marks: “We have a lot of guys who are still developing as swimmers, but as the season progresses what we lack in top-tier athletes we’ll make up for in depth.”
This season rebuilding translates into hard work; it is still early in the season, so with such a young team it is uncertain what the end result will be at sectionals. However, one thing that is certain is that this team works well together. During each practice all team members from seniors down to the freshmen are supporting each other, and helping their teammates get better every day. If one thing is beyond any doubt it is that this is not the team that will have problems in the locker room or outside of the pool. When asked about the team, Co-captain Arka Rao said that “everyone works very well together.”
Nevertheless, the season is not without some problems. In a recent meet against Shaker, Academy suffered a tough loss at the hands of the Bisons. Shaker earned the fastest times in every individual event and relay. However, Academy still had some strong performances. Chris Poole went an impressive 52.43 in the 100 yd. freestyle, Arka Rao swam a 1:06 in the 100 yd. breaststroke, and Tucker Oberting swam a laudable 24.93 in the 50 yd. freestyle. It is also important to keep in mind that Shaker is a big school that Academy will not face at sectionals.
On the diving side of things veteran diver Steven Strait is off to a strong start. He finished second in Academy’s last two meets, and will definitely hold his own at sectionals. First-time diver John Malicki, a freshman, is also off to a great start.
While it may be a rebuilding year for the Academy Swimming and Diving team, the swimmers and divers have shown that this team is not a toothless lion. It may be too early to say what sectionals will be like, but we are well on our way to having a strong team in future contests.