Five seniors on the Hanford High School swim team were honored Thursday evening for having left the team in better shape than they found it.
Blake Rober, Rihanna Luna, Morgan Hill, Miles Brosseau and Cecilia Ramos were the team’s seniors honored during a ceremony amid Thursday’s match against Mission Oak Thursday at Hanford High School.
“There’s some emotion to it. I’ve grown up in this pool — well not this pool since it’s a new one obviously. But I’ve grown up playing water sports here since I was 6 or 7 years old,” said Brosseau. “It’s a little bittersweet, but I’m excited for the next chapter.”
The seniors have seen a lot in their four years at the school, including a complete makeover for their pool. A new $5.5 million pool complex was built before the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, giving the team a new home turf. The new pool complex replaces the previous one, which was more than 50 years old and not adequate for playoff matches, meaning the Bullpups would have to perform at other local schools for their “home” matches.
“It was weird thinking, ‘We’re hosting a playoff game but it’s not at our home,’” Brosseau said.
“I love the new pool,” said Hill. “I love the new diveboards, they’re so much nicer than the old ones. They used to just scratch your feet.”
In addition, the team has gone through a rebuilding process, as the COVID pandemic left the team dead in the water during the seniors’ early years.
Their freshman year began with a normally-sized team, but the pandemic and the shutdown of sports saw much of the team disperse.
“Sophomore year, we had four boys — and we were lucky if they’d show up. We had five or six boys last year and this year we have 10. Each year, it’s been fun watching our team grow,” Brosseau said. “We’re like one family so it’s been really fun watching everyone grow together.”
Coach Rick McCullough credits Brosseau and Roeber, in addition to the new pool, with drawing in new talent.
“We’ve grown quite a bit over the first month and Miles is a part of that. He’s a magnet, Blake too, they’re magnets for other students. And most of [the new students] have stayed.”
There are currently 26 swimmers on the team — and about half of those athletes are new.
Ramos is one of those new students. Having transferred from Sierra Pacific at the beginning of the school year, she decided to join the team as an outlet for her competitive streak, she said.
“When I moved here I didn’t have any friends and since I joined the team, I know people now. I can say ‘hi’ to people when I’m walking to class,” she said.
Brosseau and Roeber are heading to Valley, having qualified for nearly 10 events between the two of them.
McCullough is in his first year as coach, joining to help coach his daughter, Addison, who has broken five school records so far in her freshman year.
The post-pandemic experience has been much better for the team, Luna said.
“It’s definitely better now because everybody’s able to come [to meets] and there’s just more energy,” she said.
