Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, once said, “If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.” With fall sports winding down, this means that the Xavier boy swimmers are gearing up. Since Xavier High School does not have its own swim team, swimmers at Xavier are either part of the Cedar Rapids Washington team or Cedar Rapids Kennedy team. Spencer Kramer and Chase Decker swim for Kennedy and Jack Dake, Brian Foerster, Joseph Semelroth, Carter Walton, Seth Williams and Thomas Reinwart swim on the Washington team. When two schools come together to form a team, this creates a unique environment and gives the athletes an opportunity to not only swim but to also form new friendships with students from other schools. Junior Seth Williams has experienced this in his last two years swimming for the Washington team. “The best part of being on a swim team from a different school is meeting new people. My teammates are kids I would have probably never met if I wouldn’t have gone out for swimming. Since freshman year the guys on the team have turned into some of my best friends,” Williams said. For senior Spencer Kramer, a four year varsity swimmer on the Cedar Rapids Kennedy team, the start of his last season means it is time to accomplish personal goals he has set for himself. “Although I have many goals, my main goal for this season is to make it to state in a personal event,” Kramer said. Last season Kramer qualified for state in the 200 yard medley relay, 200 yard freestyle relay and the 400 yard freestyle relay. At state, his relay teams placed 17th in the 200 yard medley relay and 23rd in the 400 freestyle relay. Now that he is a senior, his leadership is more important than ever. Kramer is confident that they can achieve their goals with practice and dedication. “We really want to get as many of our relays to state as possible, that is the main goal,” Kramer said. Senior Thomas Reinwart, who swims for the Cedar Rapids Washington team, is most excited about the dynamic of the team this season. “I am excited to have my senior season and see my growth play out this season too,” Reinwart said. “The team is filled with so many different individuals and we all work so well together, cheering each other on and being supportive like a family.” The swimmers from Xavier on both the Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington teams will showcase the results of their hard work from the off- season at their first meets of the 2021-2022 season. Catch the Kennedy Boys Swim Team andtheWashingtonBoysSwim Team On Tuesday, November 23 at 5 p.m at Kennedy High School.