Fieldston’s list of swim records looms large in the aquatics center. Located on the wall just to the right of the scoreboard, it holds major significance to graduated athletes and current students alike. When swimmers join the team, usually in 7th grade, the times and names serve as daily inspiration as they grind through practices. In Middle School, it’s hard to imagine ever swimming as fast as the legendary swimmers who have called the Fieldston pool home. Dylan Porges ‘19 conquered the Boys’ side of the board during his years as an Eagle and went on to set records at Princeton University and for the Mexican national team. Lauren Fishbein (Form IV) has already broken an individual Girls’ record as an underclassman. A couple of days after a record is broken, the preexisting one is ceremoniously taken down and swimmers eagerly watch their name and new time replace it. Feelings of pride and accomplishment fill the record-breaking swimmers as they watch the change.
Earlier this month, four current members of the swim team experienced these feelings of joy as they created a new school record. On Monday, February 5th, Alex Babej (Form IV), Alden Harting (Form VI), Morgon Washington-Patterson (Form V) and myself (Connor Twibell, Form VI) came together to complete the Boys 400 Freestyle Relay in 3:28.36, beating the school record of 3:33.21 that had stood since 2019. While swimming may not seem like a team sport, breaking a relay record is a tangible reward for working together as a collective unit. As Washington-Patterson, the relay anchor, smacked the wall with more than four seconds to spare, cheers erupted and the camaraderie between the four swimmers was palpable. “Words could not describe how I felt when I touched the wall,” Washington-Patterson recalled.
Harting and I achieved this school record in the last event of our final meet in the Fieldston pool, capping a significant win over Dalton. Harting noted, “Our Freshman season was severely impacted by COVID, during which there were no competitions, so getting the record was a great way to cap off Senior season.” For me, saying farewell to teammates and coaches will be difficult but it seems fitting to end our time in this pool on a triumphant note… and to leave some inspiration on the wall for the swimmers to come.
