The swim team has done it. Following a 44 year drought, they finally swam away with the win. They were able to top Ladue, Parkway West, Parkway Central, Affton, U City and McClure South Berkeley, beating out second place by over 30 points.

With impressive swimming and diving all around, Clayton finished with a score of 503, distinguishing themselves by landing at least top three finishes in every event. It was one of the most impressive team performances to date, beating out long-time rivals in Ladue, and the Parkway schools.

As a team, the relays stood out in particular. All three relay teams qualified for state and were able to finish within the top two places. In the 200 medley relay, Clayton was able to finish first; and in the 400 free Clayton finished second to Ladue. However, in the 200 free relay, Clayton not only got second place with a state qualifying swim but also set a new school record. These outstanding performances only inspired individual swimmers to swim harder and faster.

Senior Tiger Chen, one of the captains of the team, was able to finish first in both of his events, the 200 IM and the 100 breast. Taylor Edlin, also a senior and the oldest member of the diving team, finished first in diving, setting a school record in the process. Other seniors such as Spencer Anderson, Ricky Kuehn, captain Tristan Belzer, and Harrison Wong shone in their individual events, most placing within the top 8 in their events.

Other swimmers such as Christian Bauer, Ben Blinder, Lenny Chen, Ben Evra, Matt Graham, Hutton Murdoch, Peter Sharpe, Quentin Shor Perrier, Carl Siberski, Jake Varela, Wil Welch and Koji Barrette assisted in getting such a high score in this meet.

Many of these swimmers truly went beyond expectations as underclassmen, particularly Wil Welch, Hutton Murdoch, Peter Sharpe and Koji Barrette. Without these underclassmen, Clayton would have surely lost the meet. Freshman Koji Barrette specifically had an amazing swim finishing second and making state in both the 200 and 500 free, as well as setting a new school record in the 500. The swim team is lucky to have this young talent going forward.

Overall, the team swam great, and for a sport that is often looked as an individual, there is a huge sense of sportsmanship and team spirit. Throughout the night, there was constant cheering and constant excitement among team members, coaches and Clayton students and parents. After the team won, coaches and team members jumped into the pool. This was a night that will be remembered for the swim team.