The swim team finished their season after competing in the NCAC Championships last week from Feb. 14–17 at Denison University. After four days of competition, both teams finished in fifth place; the Yeowomen had 819 points and the Yeomen 1,058. 

The last day of the meet saw achievements across the board. First-year Chahine Said clocked in a NCAA-B cut time, breaking his own record by over 12 seconds in the 1650-yard freestyle  with a time of 15:44.36. Another NCAA-B cut time was set by third-year Erik Fendorf with a time of 44.88 in the 100-yard freestyle, marking his second cut time of the week. His time also broke a school record set in 2009 by Scott Mclnerney, OC ’09, who had a time of 45.94.

Another record was set by second-year Leo Powers, who set a time of 52.92 in the 100-yard individual medley preliminaries, as well as third-year Myles Felt, who beat his best time in the 200-yard butterfly, placing him in fourth place with a time of 1:52.96. 

“The team performed extremely well on both the men’s and women’s sides of [the] conference,” Powers said. “On the men’s side, we posted a host of school records and top ten times in school history, and the women also posted a slew of top ten times. Equally importantly, the women held their position of fifth from last year and the men moved up from sixth to fifth. Less quantitatively, the support and recognition from everyone on the team for each other regardless of performance or ability was inspiring. As a team, we performed to the best of our ability in all aspects.”

In the women’s 100-yard I.M., three Obies finished within the top 15. In her last conference meet, fourth-year Lily Azaran clocked in at 1:04.75 to finish in 12th place alongside fourth-year Audrey Weber, who finished in 15th with a time of 1:06.05. The other top 15 finisher was third-year Ava Peyton, who finished in 9th place with a time of 1:02.67. 

All throughout the season, there was a cohort of players that continued to impress. The  men’s relay team was composed of Felt, third-years Isaac Viviano and Fendorf, and second-year Daniel Bocsi. The team competed in the 200-yard relay and marked the second time this year in which they broke the school record. During their last meet, a group consisting of Fendorf, Felt, Viviano, and first-year James Moll raced the 400-yard medley with a record time of 3:06.78.  

“Honestly, it felt natural,” Bocsi said. “I was a part of the 200- and 400-yard free and medley relay records, so it would be wrong to say I broke these records, and rather, it was Myles Felt, Erik Fendorf, Isaac Viviano, James Moll, and I who did this. Throughout the season, I’ve seen them put tremendous effort into every practice, and you could see the results, especially at the midseason meet last semester. So, when it was time to swim these events at the conference, I was unsurprised to find out we broke those records.”

They had previously set the record in 2023. This time, the new record was set at a time of 1:30.73, with the previous one being 1:32.01, a time that also gave them All-Conference Honors. 

“The fact that these records were previously ours to begin with just goes to show the quality of the swim program and the expertise of coaches Alex de la Pena and Jess Padilla,” Bocsi said. “But it goes without saying that to have these records, to be some of the fastest this school has seen, having my name on the record board, is an incredible feeling. I can’t wait to see these guys take down the record again next year.”

Bocsi is currently in his last season with the team as he will be leaving Oberlin as a student in the 3-2 engineering program. He played a crucial role in the two seasons he was with the team.

“To say my experience here was phenomenal or amazing would not be enough,” Bosci said. “Oberlin perfectly combined my academic, athletic, and personal interests in a way that I doubt any other school would be able to do. When I decided to graduate early, it was agony. One of my biggest regrets would be shortening my time with the swim team; after swimming in high school, I thought I would never experience a closer team bond, but Oberlin swim and dive proved me wrong. I won’t take for granted either the time I spent in-water and out-of-water with my friends. The coaches, Alex de la Pena and Jess Padilla, are incredible people who have made a significant impact on my life and well-being. A part of me hopes something goes wrong so I can stay for another two years.”