The Cavalier Swim Team cut through the water at this year’s district meet on Oct. 21. For the second year in a row, the girls’ swim team claimed the district title, while the boys managed to place third.

“I feel that the team did really well; everyone improved by a lot. I feel that we will all be ready to put forward maximum effort at regionals, and I am sure that we will be able to do just as well there,” junior Gaby Martinez said.

The girls’ swim team proved itself by gaining yet another district title and raking in a large win at the Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC). The girls managed to win every relay, and earned their win by an impressive margin of 244 points. The boys also managed to stand out; though they were expected to place higher, they still managed to get more points than all but two other teams.

“I feel that everyone really brought their A-game today and we really killed it. I hope that we manage to get a few people to regionals and that we improve and manage to get even more people to regionals in the future,” sophomore Holden Payne said.

All of the swimmers performed admirably, and nearly all of them set new best times for themselves. They all had been training after school, both with the team and on their own; some had even been swimming with a club team to prepare for this meet. The team also has a few members from other schools who don’t have sports teams and contributed to the great performance of the swim team as a whole.

“We knew the girls were probably going to do well and it was great to get first place. We were pleasantly surprised with how well the boys did and how much they improved. It was a solid team effort,” Coach Brian Van Cleave said.

Some of Gables’ highlights included:

• 1st place, 200 yard Medley with Hanna Payne, Hannah Cordes, Jesitt Pérez and Paloma Sanchez.
• 1st place, 200 yard freestyle relay, with Guillermina Pons, who will later be replaced with Hanna Payne, Hannah Cordes, Jesitt Pérez and Paloma Sanchez
• 1st, 400 yard freestyle relay, with Cathryn Cordes, Guillermina Pons, Camila Pérez and Hannah Banciella
• Other impressive performances in:  he boys’ 200 yard Medley, with John Fernandez, Alexander Blanding, Emanuel Diaz and Manuel Gutiérrez, the boys’ 200 yard freestyle relay, with Alex Biondi, Sigurd Ozols, Arthur Contreras and John Fernandez, and the boys’ 400 yard freestyle relay, with John Fernandez, Alex Biondi, Daniel Sanchez and Manuel Gutiérrez, which managed to astound the coaches with new relay times.

“I had a really great time today and felt really good about my performances. I dropped a lot of time and was very proud of my races,” junior Nicolas Restrepo said.

Some impressive individual performances include:

• Jesitt Pérez pulled off a win in the girls’ 100 yard butterfly.
• Hannah Cordes won the 500 yard freestyle.

“I came into districts knowing that I had good chances at winning and I was definitely happy with my win in the 50 free. It was a great day for me and I am looking forward to regionals,” freshman Paloma Sanchez said.

The Gables swim team is now preparing for the regional swim meet on Nov. 1 at the Ransom Everglades Aquatic Center. With some great performances under their belt and a thirst for more, these aquatic Cavaliers are on the path to the State Championship.