Caleb Gottry attends Chandler Preparatory Academy and is a member of the AIA’s Student SID program.

Chandler Prep girls swim competed in the D-III state championships on Saturday, November 7th, placing the highest in school history. The Titans girls team totaled 139 points coming in sixth, only sixteen points behind Tanque Verde High School, the fifth-place team. The boys team from Chandler Prep came into the season with only three swimmers and no upperclassmen, but still finished 17th, edging out Tempe Prep High School by five points. Titan Head Coach Erin Thomas said this about Titan swim this season:

“We had a smaller team than previous years, but everyone that came out was really committed. The coaching staff was able to work with that consistency and the kids that swam had substantial improvements. We took our largest team ever to state. Our girls qualified at least one swimmer in each event, which we have never done before. We are not a very old team, so each year we have gone out and just tried to improve on the previous season. I think this with season under our belt, CPA has proven that we are one of the top teams in our state division. I’m proud of the work these kids have put in, how they have set goals and are achieving them, and that they are now a force to be reckoned with.”

The Titans had a few strong fourth-place event finishes at state. Sophomore Colorado Stanley clocked a 55.27, finishing fourth in the 100 back. The Chandler Prep girls were three seconds short of the bronze in the 400 free relay and junior Sarah Finlayson snatched a fourth-place finish in the 500 free.

Chandler Prep’s girls were led by juniors Finlayson and Caroline Craig. Both swam in the 400 free relay and the 200 free relay, which placed fifth, as well as competing in two other events individually. Craig competed in the 500 free (placing fifth) and the 50 free (placing seventh) and Finlayson, in addition to her fourth-place finish, swam in the 200 free (placing sixth). Finlayson had this to say about the struggles and successes of the season:

“It definitely was not a typical season, but the team continued to improve and ended up finishing higher than we had in the past. I think that our team’s greatest strength is our unity as a team, by motivating and encouraging each other. Our greatest struggle was the effect that COVID-19 had on the way the season was run. For example, we were not allowed to have spectators at our meets and the number of meets, especially state qualifying meets, was drastically reduced. Even with these challenges, our team persevered and had our best season ever!”

The Titans only graduate one senior, Madison Saldano, this year and hope to keep improving next year to further establish themselves as a leading presence at state. Titan Up.