Following strong performances in the city championships last year, Grady’s boys and girls swim teams look to continue their success in the 2015-16 season. Last season, the combined boys and girls teams finished first in the city for the first time in school history. The individual girls team also placed first in the city, while the boys team came in second to rival North Atlanta.
The team competes as a unit during the season and in the city championship, but swimmers can only qualify for state in singular events, not as a team. Both the boys and girls teams were represented at state last year by senior Justin Cucchi and sophomore Max Nevins for the boy and senior Sloan Hodges and now college freshman Lia Pett competing in the girls events. According to head coach John Rives, the boys team looks to build on its success and avenge its second-place finish behind North Atlanta in the coming season.
“[Losing last year] brings a lot of motivation,” Rives said. “[North Atlanta] has a lot of very good male swimmers. [The boys] are motivated to beat those guys. Unfortunately, the number of male swimmers we have this year is way down from what we have had in the past, but we have our fingers crossed.” Cucchi, the first Grady boy swimmer in history to qualify for finals at the state meet, is highly motivated to knock off North Atlanta.
“I’m really hoping we can beat [North Atlanta] and show them up,” Cucchi said. “They’ve beat us every year I’ve been here; so, it would be nice to finally beat them.”
Cucchi is looking forward to this season and has high expectations of himself as well as the team.
“I want to qualify for state in every event I compete in and come back and finish top 10 in finals at state,” Cucchi said. “Every senior is trying to push the newer kids to be better and to show them the ropes, and I am hop ing that a lot of us can qualify for state and end up placing.”
Similarly, the girls team is looking to build off its success last season. As reigning APS city champions, defending their title is important to them. Senior girls captain Sloan Hodges hopes to win the city title again, but also aims higher than just a city championship.
“I hope that all of our relays can make it to state, and as many people as possible make it individually,” Hodges said.
Also, similar to the boys team, the girls are determined to make a statement in their bigger meets.
“Obviously, [Marist and St. Pius] are really good at swimming, but our biggest rival is North Atlanta, so we are really trying to beat them again this year,” Hodges said.
Both the boys and girls are looking to send more than just individual team members.
“What we would like to do is qualify a girls relay and a boys relay in the championship final [at the state meet],” Rives said. “Last year, we had two individual swimmers who qualified for the final heats, but we didn’t qualify a relay.”
Cucchi has already individually qualified for state in three events: the 100 yard free, 200 yard IM, and 100 yard backstroke. Two relay teams have also already qualified for state: the 200 yard medley and 400 yard free.
Thus far this season, the team has competed in one invitational meet and one APS meet. In the invitational meet, the boys and girls combined to get fourth place behind Woodward Academy, Lakeside, and Centennial.
“In our one major meet so far, we did quite well, and with increased attendance, we will have a good season,” Rives said.
