Annie Price
Westview is undoubtedly one of MC’s biggest rivalries, and that competitive spirit carried over to the swim meet that happened on Thursday. With the girls teams especially, competition is close.
“Last year they beat us pretty candidly, and the year before it was a tight race, we beat them by a point, all thanks to our divers,” junior Georgia Reilly said.
The Westview meet prompted some serious team spirit from MC, visible in the halls through red face paint on members of the team.
“We had the face paint, and out mentality is different going into it,” Reilly said. “[This season] we’ve been able to kind of relax and have fun while working hard, but right now it really starts to count, because our whole mentality is like we’ve worked hard to deserve this. Right now it’s actually a challenge, and we’re having to step up our game.”
The dedication paid off, with a win over Westview in addition to the team’s impressive record this season.
“It’s amazing,” Reilly said. “The girls are undefeated, and we won the MC invitational for the first time in seven years.”
However, MC’s team has a lot more than just a winning streak.
“We have great team spirit,” freshman Justin Ferrell said. “We’re fast, but what makes us go even faster than we’re expected to is that everyone is supportive. If you’re doing bad, we’re supportive, if you’re feeling down, we pick you up.”
The swimmers as a team have bonded even further this year.
“Everyone talks about how weirdly close we are,” Reilly said. “We cheer for everyone. None of the other teams are like a family. There’s no one on our team that’s left out. Other teams don’t have that.”
MC is also known for years of traditions.
“Before our last home meet we have a short shorts day,” Reilly said.
The guys may have a bit more of a challenge with this ritual than the girls.
“It’s when the guys dress up in short shorts like the girls wear and it’s absolutely going to look ridiculous, but fun,” Ferrell said.
A strong team mentality is also visible with MC’s meet traditions.
“We have ‘whoosh,’” Reilly said. “On the last relay, we have signs that say, ‘whoosh,’ and when every person dives in we have a sea of red and we all put our hands down when they dive in, and it sounds really cool.”
Another recurring theme at MC swim meets? Noise.
“The man cheer is when all the varsity guys get together and they pretty much scream their hearts out, and it intimidates the other teams,” Ferrell said. “It’s right before the very end, and it gets us going to finish hard.”
Even with so many flashy spirit boosters, MC doesn’t forget the underlying companionship that ties the whole team together.
“Our tradition is that we’re one of the most close-knit teams in San Diego,” Reilly said.
