The Salem Swim team has twelve students graduating this year, all with a promising future. Senior swimmers, Anna Ruth, Carter Mercier, Chloe Nelson (Captain), Ezyah Clarke (Manager), Gavin Wehr, Gavin Wisner, Haydn Hollowell, Jason Bonilla-Snow (Captain), Kyle Brown (Captain), Madison Peppers (Captain), Toby Sealy, and Zeeshan Closs share their plans after graduation and their experiences on the team.
Anna Ruth
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I won’t be continuing my swimming career. Instead, I will be attending a college up north studying to be a nurse for the Navy.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: I started swimming sophomore year with Coach Bond and Coach Biron, and have swam on our school’s team since. As I have swam on our team I have learned quite a bit in my technique and done some hard practices that have allowed me to really improve in this sport. Once I entered the 400 free and that has stuck with me as my main event throughout my swimming career here; however, I have swam every event at least once and continue to attempt the more challenging events, hoping to pr.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: I will miss swimming meets the most about swimming, I love competing in this sport so much. For our team, I’ll miss our pasta dinners and after-meet dinners because it is such a fun time getting to know everyone unrelated to our sport.
Carter Mercier
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: No, I plan on enlisting in the military. However, I do intend on recreational swimming.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: This is my first year swimming, and I’ve grown to like the people I’m around, and enjoy the sport.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: What I’m going to miss most about swimming with Salem is definitely the friends. hanging out with friends and competing against other schools is a lot of fun.
Chloe Nelson (Captain)
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: After high school, I plan to join the club swim team at JMU where I will be able to attend practices and meets without being on an extreme level of college swim. I will be able to participate in my sport and will be able to take care of my shoulders.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: As a freshman, I swam at a private Christian school in Richmond because I wanted to get back into swimming. I came to Salem my sophomore year and was told by many people to get involved so I tried out for the swim team. The team welcomed me with open arms and ever since, I have been a part of the swim team. My junior year I was voted for captain and that continued into my senior year and my second year as a captain.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: The people on the team and the connection we all have is what I will miss the most about swimming. At meets, everyone is encouraging, and supportive of each other, and we equally push each other to be the best version of ourselves.
Ezyah Clarke (Manager)
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: After high school, I plan on going to school to be a math teacher (preferably algebra 1 or lower)
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: Throughout my high-school years the swim team was a safe space for me and provided me with many fun memories and friends.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: I will miss the team bonding the most because, during those times, there was never a dull moment.
Gavin Wehr
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I plan on continuing to swim in college in the form of club swimming! After College, I plan to do iron mans and triathlons, which are just some fancy words for a bunch of swimming and some other sports.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: Swimming over these past four years has been a crazy journey, but one full of challenges, growth, and moments that I will never forget. From adapting to different coaches and different leagues to trying my hardest not to get sick after a race, I truly have come to love swimming. I look back and think about the captains of my sophomore year who truly have all of my respect, and I look back at the leaders who brought so much love to our team, most of whom did not even have a leadership position. I am beyond grateful for every single mentor, coach, and teammate that I had. Thank you for making my high school swim experience one that I will always cherish.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: I’ll miss the meets the most. They were so fun, and filled with so much competition, but what stood out was the peace and respect we shared after each race. I’ll also always appreciate Ms. Bond for calling me out when I had a not-so-good swim, she was a real one.
Gavin Wisner
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I will not be continuing my swim career after high school but I will swim and I plan on becoming an airforce officer
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: Freshman year I first moved here from Missouri with little swim experience only being in a tiny rec league but I joined a pretty well-known club team (tide). Once the swim season started I tried out for the team and made it and was placed in the fastest lane. After sophomore I left the club team and just did high school and this year my senior year I did water polo to get some sorta conditioning before the swim season started.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: The Friends and coaches and the feeling of the water against me and the racing against people.
Haydn Hollowell
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I do not plan on swimming in college. I plan on majoring in special education and possibly minoring in dance.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: My swim journey has been chaotic. Through many injuries, I still power through for our team. Since sophomore year, the team has grown from under 20 people to over 40. Seeing this team grow throughout my year in swimming has been the best thing ever. It grows us as individuals and seeing the coaches smile is my favorite thing. From going just swimming one small event to swimming longer and more advanced events, I love seeing myself grow and hearing the cheers.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: The thing I’m going to miss most is definitely the spirit of our team. Hearing the cheers and the happiness of each person is the thing that keeps me going at each meet. Cheering on my teammates and seeing them grow knowing they were scared to even join the team is so exciting.
Jason Bonilla-Snow (Captain)
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: Yes, I plan to continue my swimming career in college. Swimming has been such an important part of my life, and I’m excited to compete at the next level while working with experienced coaches and being part of a dedicated team. It’s a great way to keep challenging myself and growing both in and out of the pool.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: My swim journey in high school started off difficult because I had never done competitive swimming before or had the experience that many of the other swimmers did. I had to work hard to catch up, but the more I learned and practiced, the easier it became. Over time, I improved so much that I’m now faster than many swimmers who did club swimming. It’s been a challenging but rewarding experience, and I’m proud of how far I’ve come.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: I’m definitely going to miss the pasta dinners and meeting days the most. I love seeing everyone come together and celebrating how far we’ve come as a team and as a family. Those moments are so special. I’ll also miss being in the water because it’s the one place where I can set all my problems aside and just swim peacefully. Those are the things I’ll carry with me forever.
Kyle Brown (Captain)
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I would like to try to continue my swim career after high school to college.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: It was exhausting, challenging, exciting, and it was a special time.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: My friends, coaches, dinners with the team, and Holiday practices
Madison Peppers (Captain)
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I do not plan on continuing sports out of high school. As much as I have loved and enjoyed every single second of swimming, for me it comes to an end when I graduate, I have bigger personal priorities I wish to accomplish out of high school.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: I can’t think of any words I can use to describe my experience with my swim family. Other than the fact I do not regret joining, I do not regret the bond I have with each and every person on the team, and though I won’t be there next year I will always be there for them.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: What I am going to miss about my team is everything. The adrenaline while competing, beating my times, my coaches, the water, Waffle House after the meets with everyone, but most of all the people, and especially the team bonding dinners on Thursdays before meets.
Toby Sealy
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: I will most likely do some personal swimming on the side throughout college but I most likely will not join another swim team. I will mostly be focusing on my college education and getting into Med-School.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: I joined the swim team only last year, but it has been a very interesting experience. I have been swimming since I was seven, but no other swim team has pushed me quite as hard as high school swim has. The transition in the beginning from such a large team with hundreds of members to a smaller team of about 40 has been interesting. But it is so much more fun to be able to cheer on your teammates that you know personally and even your friends.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: I am going to miss the competitive attitude of this team and watching the swimmers around me grow and improve. Already many of the freshmen that I joined with, now sophomores, have improved immensely and it is so fun to watch their progress. I am also going to miss the pasta dinners and team hangouts after swim meets. Although the team is made up of a very diverse group they are all very fun to be around and very good about keeping up a positive attitude towards anything and everything.
Zeeshan Closs
Q: Do you plan on continuing your swimming career after high school and if so how? If not, please answer with what you will be doing after high school.
A: No I don’t. I plan on taking a gap year where I work on my music, streaming, & clothing brand and once that gap year is up if these are not successful I will enlist.
Q: Describe your swim journey throughout your high school years.
A: It has been pretty good up until this year where I have faced many hardships.
Q: What will you miss the most about swimming and the team?
A: Achieving new things every week
As the fellow seniors forage ahead into their next chapter, coaches Biron and Bond wish the best for their swimmers as they watch them grow throughout their years and become the best they can be.
