Tuesday, April 15, the Bishop’s Swim Team embarked on a mission to make their Senior Night as memorable as possible. Every moment was full of joy and gratitude for the Seniors for the difference they made to the team. Mackenzie Harris (‘29) noted, “the ceremony, care and time put into the night was so noticeable. From the flowers and leis given to the parents, and to the speeches read by Coach Brubaker highlighting something personal about each and every senior.”
One of the aspects that makes swimming so special is that both the girls and the boys get to compete and practice together to pull off a win for their school. On the girls side, the score (108-54) was hard fought, but not quite enough to pull out a win against Patrick Henry High School.
On the boys side, however, a blow out of 76 points led them to a 123-47 victory. Four out of four seniors who are boys were able to experience this win together on their Senior Night – Charlie Ahn, Kaito Berrios, Brandon Agbayani, and Oliver Baum.
This year, Coach Darren Brubaker came to the Bishop’s Swim Team after an extremely successful coaching career of over a decade at Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. There he was named Coach of the Year four times and led the team to seven state championships.
Coach Brubaker is unique in the way he is able to combine his dual strengths of teaching and coaching to foster a successful student-athlete, and he brought these strengths to Bishop’s. While reflecting on the year he has had so far with the team and the seniors, Coach Brubaker said, “They’ve set the standard for this team in how they work and how they carry themselves, and that’s had a real impact on my first year as the head coach at Bishop’s. It’s definitely a bummer seeing them go.”
Charlie Ahn (‘26) noted the impact of this being one of the last times he will get the opportunity to swim for Bishop’s. He said, “It’s definitely a bittersweet moment. Swimming for Bishop’s has been one of the best experiences and it is going to be something I really will miss.” His goals are clear: he wants the team to get as far as they can in CIF’s, coming up on May 7th, and to swim fast.
Oliver Baum (‘26) has a special experience swimming for Bishop’s. This year, he contacted incoming Coach Brubaker to ask for a chance to contribute to the swim team his senior year, despite not swimming for a club team outside of school. While reflecting on the past few weeks, he said, “coming to practice everyday meant a lot to me because it is something I really do look forward to. Coach Brubaker really makes it awesome, I can see he cares so much and it truly makes an impact on the team as well as me.”
Senior Brandon Agbayani felt a mixture of excitement and sadness. He was eager and looked forward to competing at CIF’s with the team and has a good feeling about his races as well as how the team is going to do. “It’s not over yet” he said. “I’m eager to compete at CIF’s and have this really be a year to remember. I think the team culture, and work ethic is really going to show at that meet.”
When Kaito Berrios (‘26), reflected on his past years swimming for Bishop’s, he noted how grateful he felt to have been able to have had the opportunity to represent his school. “The team is really what means a lot, I know I can count on them for anything and I am really happy that I have been able to have Coach Brubaker as my coach for at least one year. It has truly been a great experience.”
Together on Senior Night, all Seniors got an opportunity to swim in a 200 freestyle relay together, swimming 2 laps each – something that doesn’t happen often as relay teams fluctuate. Gathering all the energy and adrenaline, the all-senior relay pulled out a win, scoring 8 points for the team.
Beyond just swimming fast individually, the team truly cares about one another, especially the seniors after being together for at least 4 years. Oliver said, “It’s really nice seeing a lot of the guys that I’ve been friends with for four years supporting each other. It’s pretty awesome watching Charlie, Kaito, and Brandon go out there and swim super fast times. All the hard work is really paying off.”
Katie Pierce (‘27) has swam for Bishop’s for three years, and has seen coaches come and go. She added her perspective by noting just how influential this year in particular has been. “The specific mix of the seniors being so dedicated to the team, as well Coach Brubaker coming in this year and caring so much about the program really makes swimming for Bishop’s so much more fun and something I know I am really going to miss when I leave”.
The impact of the thriving team culture doesn’t just radiate onto the upperclassmen but also onto the freshman. Mackenzie Harris (‘29) said, “We are really going to miss the energy and speed they bring to the team. Especially to all the meets, they make it a lot more fun.” Theo Lightner (‘29), jumped in and added, “They have a big influence on the team. These seniors spend a lot of time working really hard to get here and it is really nice to be able to appreciate them tonight.”
Overall, the team as well as the coach will really miss their presence on and off the pool deck. Coach Brubaker said, “I’m proud of them and everything they’ve done, but they’re not easy to replace. And beyond the pool, they’re high-character people. That’s what stands out most and what I’ll remember.”
