After a long season of hard work and determination, reaching the CIF Championships has been a surreal experience for swimmers on the Birmingham Patriot swim team

“I am relieved and happy now that the championship is over. It was a good feeling,” varsity swimmer Amelia Sanchez said. “I was nervous, but I tried to swim my best and do better than last time.”

Going into the championship meet on May 11, many of the swimmers showed great confidence and poise when it came to discussing the level of nervousness they felt. Being out of their comfort zone and at the big stage of the L.A Coliseum against a number of other schools was an intense moment for all of the swimmers.

Ben Sanchez was the only of the three Daniel Pearl Magnet High School CIF Championship participants to advance to the State. Nonetheless, doing this well as freshmen is quite a stellar accomplishment for Petra Vass and Amelia Sanchez . They were able to show that they were some of the best swimmers in the Los Angeles area and they will definitely be back even better next season.

“It’ll mean a lot to me if I win the championship,” varsity swimmer Sanchez said. “I’ve put a lot of work into this season by going to practice twice a day on most days.”

All that hard work did end up paying off as, Ben Sanchez went to Fresno for the CIF State Championship meet on May 24 after winning the 500 freestyle and placing second at the 200 freestyle. By putting in ample amounts of time at the pool everyday, he was able do get his desired results and continue swimming for the rest of his teammates.

“I definitely felt bad after not placing high enough at the meet, but I still went out and tried to get my best possible time,” varsity swimmer Petra Vass said.