You can find Malvern’s swimmers, with damp heads of hair, quickly gobbling down breakfast in Stewart on any given Wednesday morning. A 6:15 morning practice will work up your appetite. And this year’s team has had a big appetite for success.
On Thursday January 23rd, the swim team captured their second straight InterAc Championship after many morning practices and hard work. The team, often unheralded, was led to consecutive undefeated seasons by Coach Jay Schiller and his staff.
After losing last year’s senior duo of Paul Stockett (Purdue) and MP Salinas (USNA), captains Luke Bushner and CJ Schaeffer were tasked leading the team to with continue the winning legacy.”The leadership and talent on the team is ubiquitous,” according to Bushner. “Of course our juniors and seniors really stepped up as veterans this year and contributed through leading both in and out of the pool.”
He credits the team’s success to a close-knit, family atmosphere and the seven practices and two lifts the team participated in each week. Those many hours in the pool and in the gym not only gave swimmers like Chris Nguyen great abs, but also a family. Together, they swept all competition and defeated every hated InterAc rival.
On Friday February 7th, the O’Neil Center played host to the InterAc Championships for each individual race. All 6 member schools participated in the day-long event. Malvern once again did very well with CJ Schaeffer’s first place finish in 200m Individual Medley and second in 100m backstroke, sophomore Billy Beard’s second place finish in the 100m freestyle, and Aaron Salinas’ second place finishes in both 50m free and 100m breaststroke.
Bushner is proud of the strong contributions of the underclassmen like Beard and Salinas. “We have freshman who are capable of stepping up and performing in key relay spots. Our sophomore class [swimmers] are some of the most talented swimmers I’ve seen and they add a lot of our depth.”
The swim team continued their great success with a strong showing at their final meet the Eastern’s Championship on February 22nd. The team travelled to LaSalle University to pit their swimmers against the best of the best from all over the East Coast. Taking third, Malvern ranks itself among the best swimmers in the region, if not the country.
The year’s dominance in the lanes is highlighted by the fact that it follows the school’s first ever InterAc Water Polo Championship in the fall. The chlorine crew has really made a splash in helping to will Malvern to a hopeful Heyward Cup victory. With two championships this year already some credit must be given to Jay Schiller and his staff.
Mr. Schiller, who also serves as a Health teacher, has always been a great motivator. He encourages a fierce competitiveness in his classes with an emphasis on having fun and playing with class.
Schiller pushes his guys to work hard, as obvious through the team’s rigorous practice schedule and workouts. He has said that he is extremely proud of the team’s unwavering efforts and unity. Always fired up to talk about the water sports, Coach Schiller also knows how to have fun as seen in the picture above.
Though the pool sports are done for the year, you can still admire their success. Tw banners now hang in the O’Neil Aquatic Center, two banners that let anyone who jumps in that pool that Friars are the champs.
