Through a hard fought half of their season and another intense half left, Coach Vanderjeugdt of the varsity boy’s swim team sat down with the NWN to discuss the progress of the team so far and the expectations of the team to come.

NWN: How’s the team doing this year?

Vanderjeugdt: We are currently (3-2) in dual meets this season, finished third at the Niles West Invite early in the season and last at the Evanston Invite. We swim Waukegan on Friday, January 16, so we should improve our dual meet season to (4-2).

Any surprises so far?

Vanderjeugdt: Not many surprises so far this season but the boys are working extremely hard and hope to continue their strides towards the end of the season.

Who, if any, is really shining within the team this year?

Vanderjeugdt: Kohler Mohr, senior, is beginning to swim faster within the ropes. For our Divers, senior Jeremy Sands and sophomore Brendan OShaughnessy, are also doing very well. All teammates are doing well but these are a few to watch!

Are there any big meets or tournaments, playoffs included, that the team is preparing/excited for?

Vanderjeugdt: We swam the Evanston Invite where there were eighteen teams and twelve of the eighteen teams are ranked in the top twenty teams in the state. It was a tough meet to compete in but the boys swam well.

Predictions for the rest of the season? Goals for the rest of the season.

Vanderjeugdt: We hope to have all life time best times and to get at least one or two people to state. In particular, I believe that both of our divers will qualify for the state meet.

If you could give me three words to wrap the season up, what would those words be and why?

Vanderjeugdt: Competitive, Intensity, and Effort would be the the words that I would chose. Every time that we swim we need to be competitive with the guy next to us. Intensity and effort have to come from within each swimmer in order to succeed in the pool.

The boys will be action this Friday at Waukegan at 5:30.