These students have waited the entire offseason for this moment and it’s here. It’s the first swimming meet of the season and there is nothing but excitement and anxiety in the air as the team anxiously waits to compete.

“I’ve  been swimming for about four to five years already,” swimmer Jacob Gonzalez  said.

Although Gonzalez has been swimming for some time he feels like this season is different from the others.

“It will be a very successful season. We have a lot of leaders on this team,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez believes there are plenty of leaders but one rises above the pack.

“Jhanda is the leader. She is always the one to pick us up when we’re down,” Gonzalez said.

Swimmer Brandon Nava is in his second year.

“I felt like trying new things my freshman year so I chose to become a swimmer,” Nava said.

Nava understands every sport has competition but he feels swimming is different.

“The competition is tough in swimming no doubt but Riverside is the one school that always gives us a fight,” Nava said.  

Nava and the swim team don’t struggle much but when they do swim team coach Carlos Valverde sets expectations.

“After a poor performance we listen to our coach on what we have to correct and review then we practice harder,” Nava said. “We got one goal for this season and that’s to win gold.”