February 8th, 2015

By Teresa Schatz and Courtney Baker

At the start of the 2015-2016 swim season, head coach Jim Health put confidence in his team by saying, “The team should have a very strong and successful year,” and he was certainly right. Some big changes were put in the way of the team, including the new location of their practice facility, but the team nonetheless proved throughout the season that it does not matter where they swim, or with whom, because they will succeed either way. Ten seniors led the team this year, along with nine incoming swimmers who joined to help carry the team to its many victories.

To kick off the regular season, both the boys and girls teams put up high numbers in a tournament hosted by North Medford. The Pirates placed first out of seven teams, with event wins from Alec Shepherd in the 200 free, Ethan Shepherd in the 50 free and Taylor Brown for 500 free. The Lady Pirates swim team took third overall from the tremendous effort of double event winners Emily Samudio in the 100 Fly and 500 Free, and Lauren Speaks for the 100 Free and 100 Breast.

The team continued their season by traveling to Klamath Falls for an annual outdoor meet, the Henley Freeze. The Pirates conquered all but Henley in the freezing weather that day, with more double event wins from Emily Samudio (50 free, 500 free) and Ethan Shepherd (50 free, 100 free). First Place honors also went to Eddie Stewart (100 fly), Lauren Speaks (200 IM), and the girls 200 Medley Relay consisting of Ruby Moser, Lauren Speaks, Emily Samudio, and Lola O’Connor.

For the first time ever the All Skyline Meet was held at the Grants Pass YMCA. Despite the change in location, the teams still ended the day with record-breaking wins. The boys team won the meet for the the 15th consecutive year.  In the process, they knocked off one of the oldest All Skyline meet records in the 200 Medley Relay with a time of 1:52.28. The old record was held at 1:52.97 set by Hidden Valley in 2000. Congratulations to the new record holders: Bryce Roy, Thomas Ward, Eddie Stewart, and Ethan Shepherd!

At the North Medford Invitational, both teams ended the day with plenty of victories. The boys team captured the team title by 20 points over the host, while girls team placed second only to NMHS. Event winners for the boys were Alec Shepherd (200 free, 500 free) and Ethan Shepherd (50 free, 100 free). Ethan Shepherd, Thomas Ward, Eddie Stewart,  and Alec Shepherd took home the win for the 200 Medley relay, as well as Alec Shepherd, Brent Flynn, Thomas Ward,  and Ethan Shepherd for the 200 Free Relay. Event winners for the girls were Emily Samudio (100 fly, 500 free) and Lauren Speaks (50 free, 100 breaststroke). Samudio, Lola O’Connor, Tiona Hurd, and Speaks also took first in the 200 Free Relay.

More recently, the team traveled to North Bend to- wouldn’t you know, break more records. The boys finally reached a goal they have had their eye on for the last two years by breaking Phoenix’s thirteen year old 200 Medley Relay record.  Bryce Roy, Thomas Ward, Eddie Stewart and Ethan Shepherd set their mark at 1:50.85 surpassing the 1:51.35 set in 2003 by Jeff Stone, KC Cloyd, Jacob Nelson, and Gordon Barker.

Now, the swimmers are working hard to prepare for their District Meet in North Bend taking place the weekend of February 12th. The team hopes to finally surpass North Bend with a win for back-to-back district titles to end the season on a high note before saying farewell to the team’s beloved seniors. Be sure to wish the swimmers good luck as they prepare for their last tournament. Congratulations Pirate swimmers on another successful season!

Thanks to the following seniors who have outstandingly represented Phoenix High School during their swimming careers here at PHS:

 

Amundsen, Emma

Brown, Taylor

Roy, Bryce

Samudio, Emily

Shepherd, Ethan

Speaks, Lauren

Spliethof, David

Stewart, Eddie

Ward, Thomas

Welch, Valentine