Swim careers after high school

The Brush and Palette interviewed two of Laguna Beach High School’s senior swim team members, and here’s what they had to say about their high school careers.

Krisztina Berczi, Reporter
June 21, 2016

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Max Morgan dives into the pool to begin his race. Photo by: Sheri Morgan

Max Morgan

  1. What event(s) did you swim?

I swam in the 100 freestyle and the 100 breaststroke individual races, and the 4 x 50 freestyle and 4 x 100 freestyle relays.

  1. What was/were your time(s)?

In the 100 freestyle, I was 45.96, and in the 100 breaststroke I was 57.70. In the 4 x 50 relay we were 1:26.32; in the 4×100 relay we were 3:09.95. My splits in those relays were 20.94 and 45.6, respectively.

  1. What place did you get?

Individually, I placed third in the 100 freestyle and ninth in the 100 breaststroke. Our 4 x 50 relay placed 7th and the 4 x 100 relay placed 6th. Overall, the men’s team placed 4th.

  1. What are your plans with swimming for next year and for the future?

I am going on to the University of Utah and swimming on their college team for the next four years, with my goal to swim at 2020 Olympic Trials.

  1. How would you summarize the season?

I think it was a great season. Although we didn’t place as high at CIF, we broke a lot of school records this year and had some great experiences as a team.

 

 

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Cameron Karkoska prepares to dive into the pool in competition. Photo by: Kristin Karkoska

 

Cameron Karkoska

  1. What event(s) did you swim?

At CIF I swam the 200 IM, 100 BR, and was the anchor on the 4 x 50 Free Relay and on the 4 x 100 Free Relay.

  1. What was/were your time(s)?

In the 200 IM I was a 1:51.11, the 100 BR I was a 58.26 (went 57.74 in prelims), the 4 x 100 Free Relay I went a 45.59, and the 4 x 50 Free Relay I went a 21.13 (Led off in prelims in a 21.05).

  1. What place did you get?

In the 200 IM I was second, and in the 100 BR I was 7th.  In the 4 x 50 relay we placed 7th, and in the 4 x 100 relay we placed 6th.

  1. What are your plans with swimming for next year and for the future?

Next year I will be going out to Austin, TX to take a gap year to train.  I found a really great program out there and I love Austin, so it just seemed like a good fit for me.  In the future, I plan on attending a 4-year college and swimming at the Division 1 level.  I still haven’t decided on what school yet.

  1. How would you summarize the season?

I would summarize my season as a little bittersweet.  I think towards the end of the season, I put a ton of pressure on myself to do well at CIF, and kind of imploded.  I believe that if I had just gone out and had a good time, I would have swam faster, and had more fun while I was at it.  I always strive to be the best that I can possibly be, so when the results don’t pan out, it’s hard for me.  But on the other hand, my teammates and friends that I got to swim with made my senior season the best I could have asked for.  So, in short, it was definitely a bittersweet season.