Adrienne Howard '26
Nov 15, 2024
Two weeks ago, Mercersburg Academy hosted its largest swim meet to date. Over 450 swimmers from 13 different teams competed in the Lloyd Aquatic Center in individual and team events from Friday through Sunday.
The meet saw a series of outstanding performances from Academy swimmers. Most notably, Caiden Bowers ’25 broke the school record set by former Olympian Mel Stewart ’88 in the 100-yard butterfly. Reflecting on his performance, Bowers said, “I think the meet went well, and I executed the details the way I wanted to. The time I broke the record was slower than my PR, but for this point in the season, I was really happy with it.” Head Coach Matt Hurst added, “Anytime you get to take an Olympic gold medalist off the board, that is noteworthy.”
In preparation for the meet, Blue Storm trained diligently. Hurst explained, “We spent a lot of time talking about how to execute our races, breaking them down at practice. We looked at what we needed to do to be successful and worked on controlling the race.” Sophie Koroma ’26 added, “We focused mostly on power work and underwater training.”
Spirits were high heading into the race. Harry Cameron ’26 commended his team’s camaraderie, saying, “We are focusing on the team aspect like cheering each other on and being attentive during the meet.” Beliz Kaya ’28 explained, “After the first meet, we realized we weren’t cheering each other on enough, so this time, we focused on motivating each other more.” William Feaste ’25 agreed, stating, “We’re working on maintaining a positive attitude and mindset, which is just as important as our physical performance.” Cameron concluded, “We started as individuals and now we’re working together as one unit. We’ve all gotten closer, and it’s been great seeing everyone cheer for each other.”
Storm swimmers delivered strong performances in other events as well. Koroma said, “We had two really strong relays: the men’s and women’s 200 medley relays, which were close to breaking records.” Hurst agreed, adding, “The guys' 200-meter medley relay almost broke the pool record and was close to the school record. On the girls’ side, we saw depth and versatility across the board. In particular, Beliz also had some really good performances and showed us the athlete and competitor she could be.”
The team has shown strong progress and promising results under the leadership of Hurst, who is a new addition to Mercersburg’s swim program this year. Bowers said, “Matt has been such a great addition, and we are going to be in good shape to race in the winter.”