The Lowell Cardinals came out victorious in all divisions at the AAA League Championship meet on April 28 at City College. This was the first time in three years that the team swept the competition for JV and varsity girls and boys.

Swimmers also set record-breaking times. In the 200 individual medley event, the varsity girls relay team set a time of 1:48.71. For the varsity girls butterfly event, sophomore Crystal Murphy came in with a time of 56.37.

Throughout the season, head coach R’Nel Ocampo’s main concern was with the boys JV and varsity teams. According to Ocampo, the varsity boys were vulnerable against the Washington Eagles’ boys varsity team. In addition, the JV boys team had few members than usual, with just 14 swimmers, making it a challenge to compete against larger teams. These two factors were enough to hinder the Cardinals’ performance during the AAA League Championship.

Nonetheless, the Cardinals were successful and managed to sweep the team standing. “Honestly it feels great,” Ocampo said. “I’ve had a lot of help before, but the kids did it all. They helped me the most at being a coach.”

Many of the swimmers were caught off-guard by the results. “This doesn’t really happen very often, and it’s nice to see that Lowell is not only excelling in academics but also in athletics,” junior varsity girls swimmer Angela Huang said. Overall, the swimmers and coaches generally agreed that the JV and varsity boys win was the major accomplishment of this season. Following the AAA League Championship, Bautista hopes that all swimmers will continue practicing to prepare for States, which will be held on May 18 and 19, at the Clovis Olympic Swim Complex, located at Clovis West High School in Clovis.