Simpson women and men’s swimming had a record-breaking season. Namely sophomores Kate Minette and Jay Ceperley had individual records in the 100-yard freestyle. 

Ceperley is a mid-distance sprinter freestyler and occasionally swims butterfly. He swam a 50.19 in the 100-yard freestyle, a career-best at the conference meet. The time swam at the meet also moved him to sixth place on the all-time records for Simpson in the event.

Ceperley’s teammate, freshman Christopher Old, knocked off two minutes of his time in the mile freestyle, which places him fourth on the all-time records.

Minette also had an impressive season with continuous drops in her times, setting new records individually and helping her team set a school record in the 200-year freestyle relay. Minette is a 50, 100, and sometimes 200-yard freestyle swimmer. At the conference meet, she received first place in the 50 and 200-yard freestyle and set a new school record for the 100-yard freestyle at a time of 54.25.

“We started slow with a lot of new faces on the team, but over time through hard work we got better,” Ceperley said. “It accumulated a great conference for everybody. The team dropped time and had fun while doing it.”

The team’s chemistry and atmosphere are a support system throughout the team, helping them to continue to succeed.

“I think if you know everybody, and everybody is behind each other, that is how a team will succeed. It helps us as a team and individually when striving for personal bests and new records,” Ceperley said.

And passion for the sport doesn’t hurt either.

“I love being in the water and being able to go fast,” Minette said. “The best part of the sport is the racing aspect of it. Something about racing and being in the water is exciting and keeps me motivated.”

For the postseason, the swimmers are taking a week or two off to rest their bodies from the long season, starting mid-September and ending mid to late February. In the future, they plan to stay in touch and continue to grow the team chemistry through team meals and movie nights. They also plan to start back up with lifting programs and put the work in outside and the pool to ensure a successful season.

 “I am excited to see new committed swimmers focused on sprinting so we can build a stronger team,” Minette said.

Overall the Simpson swim team ended the season with impressive record breaks and cannot wait to see what is in store for next season.