It was the evening of January 26th, and our boys on the Varsity Swim Team were eager to fight for the MAC championship title. The hay was in the barn, now all these swimmers could do was put their hard work to use as they swam one of the biggest meets of the season. As they prepared for the race, each swimmer imagined the golden plaque and banner they would be taking home to the Tundra if and only if they could earn it– and that is exactly what they did. The Flint Hill Huskies reigned victorious at the MAC championship and since the 2019-2020 season, the swimmers have shown they are the best once again.
However, to claim this win as an easy feat would be a great understatement. The Huskies, a team particularly composed of mostly freshmen, worked tirelessly behind the scenes to manifest this victory. In the newspaper outlet the GazzetteLeader, Head Coach Jocelyn Sowa stated, “We have so many freshmen, that makes it fun and magnificent as a team,” It has also been reported that Sowa, after winning MAC, colored her hair in Flint Hill colors in demonstration of her love and pride in her team.
A report on the Flint Hill swim team would not be complete without mentioning the Bermudez brothers, Simon and Lucas. Senior Simon Bermudez has been an essential swimmer on the team for the past four years, and it is exciting to know that he will be able to celebrate a well-deserved championship title before the end of high school. He won two races at the MAC championship, the 200-meter freestyle and 100-meter breaststroke. Simon will go on to be a Division I swimmer for North Carolina State University in the fall. Lucas Bermudez, a sophomore, shares much of the same potential as his older brother. He won one race, the 100-meter free and came behind his brother as a close second in the 100-meter breastroke. Ultimately, with the abundant number of talented freshmen and sophomores on the team, they have immense potential to continue claiming titles in the world of high school swim.
The VISAA (Virginia Independent Schools Atheltic Association) state competition was this past weekend, and our water Huskies have impressed the community once again. While they did not come in first place, Simon Bermudez set four record times for VISAA and Flint Hill School. With his time of 1 minute and 47 seconds, Bermudez successfully broke the record for the 200-meter individual medley for VISAA Division I, Virginia Independent Schools state-wide, as well as the record at Flint Hill previously held by Bermudez himself. On top of this enormous accomplishment, Bermudez also broke the 100-meter backstroke record with a phenomenal time of 47 seconds.
Overall it is clear that Flint Hill’s major victories in numerous meets are no fluke, but rather the manifestation of hard work and authentic talent that have been earned and honed by this team. I hope that in the coming years, our water Huskies will continue to show their stuff on the independent school stage and make us proud once again.
