The year started off with the Garfield swimming team walking into the jam-packed winter sports assembly covered in towels, leaving plenty of speculation about what was to come. The music started, the team whipped off their towels, and began prancing around the gym in nothing but Speedos, celebrating like they won the district championship.

Well, it turns out the winter sports assembly festivities may have been a good predecessor of how the team was to do this year. The team entered the year with plenty of questions still to be answered, but ended assumptions people may have had for the team. The swim team is rolling; they only have one loss with three meets left, and don’t expect to lose again. Looking at the remaining meets on the schedule, team captain Jeff Yeabsley was confident.

“Lake Washington, we’re gonna smash ’em,” said Yeabsley. “Juanita, we’re gonna smash ’em. Inglemoor, we’re definitely gonna smash ’em.”

The team’s one loss wasn’t even a legitimate loss. The team was missing Yeabsley, another strong swimmer in Andrew Nemeth, and the Walker Brothers, two swimmers on the team who attend SAAS. All were held out due to paperwork issues. Asked what would’ve happened if the team was at full strength, Yeabsley continued with his theme of assurance.

“We would’ve smashed em,” said Yeabsley.

The team’s one loss came to Roosevelt. The loss has actually been quite detrimental to the Bulldogs in the standings. It put them in second place, and Roosevelt doesn’t appear to have anyone left on their regular season schedule who can beat them. When asked what the team’s goal was for the upcoming district tournament on February 1st, Yeabsley set the bar high.

“We’re looking to win districts,” said Yeabsley.

All signs point in that directon. The team is at full strength, they didn’t lose before the Roosevelt meet, and they haven’t lost since. The team is looking forward to a potential rematch with Roosevelt, because they expect to have everyone healthy and eligible.

The team doesn’t plan on stopping at districts either. Last year the Garfield swim team came in 9th place at state. While a top ten finish at state isn’t anything to be ashamed of, Yeabsley said that this year’s team expects to finish in the top five.

The team chemistry is better than ever this year as well. Yeabsley said the team is really energetic.

“When we are at the meets everybody gets psyched up, even if were smashin’ ’em,” said Yeabsley. “It’s really solid this year.”

Everything is finally falling into place. The season is winding down, and it’s time to execute. With the lead of Yeabsley and co-captain Cody Morin, the team should be able to improve on last year’s finish, and conclude this year with a top five placement at state.