By Chris Moffitt,

After months and months of waking up to the dreaded alarm hours before the crack of dawn and enduring countless practices in the freezing cold water, the season of Tempe Prep’s brave swimmers has ended. The hard work put in by our swimmers, however, did not go without returns.

The girls team, led by Jasmine Antony, Katherine Riffle, Sophia Buzan and Josephine Fisher, worked very hard throughout the season despite sickness and challenges. The team also had many new first time swimmers. Even with these handicaps, the girls team still had a respectable season. Though not quite making the cutoff for state, the girls came unbelievably close with Juniors Katherine Riffle only 10 seconds behind the qualifying time in the 100 fly and Jasmine Antony only 2 seconds behind for the 100 breast. Moreover, Jasmine Antony’s time in the 100
breast set a new Tempe Prep record. As Coach Stephens says, “we expect big things next year from this standout group of girls.”

The boys team was incredibly successful with almost the entire team qualifying for state. The boys had three individual swimmers make the top 32 in the state for individual events: Bronson Stephens in the 100 fly, David Hudson in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley, and Jeffrey Snoddy in the 100 breast and 100 free. Also, two relays qualified within the top 24 for state: the 200 medley relay with Kepano Ream, Jeffrey Snoddy, David Hudson and Bronson Stephens and the 400 freestyle relay with Kepano Ream, Kekona Ream, Jake Massie and Bronson Stephens. “This presence at state is very impressive” Coach Stevens points out, “since our swimming division competes with large schools such as Shadow Mountain, Sunnyslope, Catalina Foothills, Campo Verde and Queen Creek.” Since each and every member of the boys swim team contributed to the team’s success, the entire boys team was recognized as the Most Valuable Players at the Fall Sports Awards Ceremony.

Overall, the year was a complete success boasting the largest swim team in Tempe Prep history with 19 high school and 10 junior high swimmers. In total, the team had 87 new personal records set by the entire high school team. Our Tempe Prep swimmers’ season of hard work and dedication definitely paid off