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The Cranbrook Chronicle
FEATURE
From the stands
by Dugald Holloway and Tom Mahony
Cranbrook’s Awesome
Foursome State Champions
On the 9th of May 2013, four dedicated
Cranbrook boys ventured out to the Olympic
Aquatic Centre (SOPAC) in Homebush, to
compete in the NSW All Schools Swimming
Championships. They swam exceptionally
well, winning GOLD in their event, the 4x50m
Freestyle relay. In this week’s edition, FTS takes
a look behind the scenes at these four achievers,
and describes how it all came together.
The journey of these four Year 8 boys on their
quest to become NSW State Champions in the
4x50m relay, began back in March, on the night
of the CAS Swimming Carnival. The following
boys (in racing order followed by their 50 metre
freestyle PB): Tom Gojak 26.17, Kevin Sohn
27.03, Elliot Grossberg 27.91 and Zach Facioni
27.71, competed individually and as a team in
the U14s division in Cranbrook colours, and
contributed hugely to our points tally on the
night. However, in the 4x50m freestyle relay,
it didn’t quite come together for them. They
placed second to a strong Knox team, with
a time of 1:49:41. Their goal was first place.
Nevertheless, with the top three competitors
in each race qualifying for CIS (Combined
Independent Schools), they were destined to be
back at SOPAC in just over a month’s time.
The boys returned to their strict training
regimes, determined to place first at the CIS
swim meet. Swimming is not for the fainthearted;
it requires volumes of discipline, grit
and hard work to take milliseconds off one’s
personal best and to be competitive at the
higher levels. Each day, Tom, Kevin, Elliot and
Zach start at 5am with at least a one-and-a-half
hour session in the pool, often followed by a
second session in the evening. Collectively,
these boys train on average a total of 52 hours a
week, displaying dedication and commitment
in spades. What is even more astonishing is
that Tom Gojak makes up a staggering 20
hours of these 52, and Kevin Sohn 14 hours.
All four boys train at Eastern Edge Swimming
Club (which uses the Cranbrook pool), under
the tuition of Gai and Angelo, and as a result
spend many hours together, adding to the team
chemistry.
The Cranbrook 4x50m Freestyle relay team
took CIS by storm. Representing both CAS
and Cranbrook, they placed first with a time
of 1:48:35, smashing their previous PB by 1.06
seconds. In doing so, they qualified for the
NSW All Schools Swimming Championships
(PSSA). The team also swam in the 4x50m
medley relay; however, were not able to
replicate their efforts. What’s more, both Kevin
and Tom raced individually. Tom raced in
the 50m and 100m freestyle events, where he
placed first and fourth, respectively, qualifying
for PSSA in the 50m freestyle. Kevin competed
in the 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle and
50m butterfly events where he placed, fourth,
eleventh and fourth. Unfortunately for Kevin,
only the top three competitors progressed to
PSSA. Even so, an outstanding achievement
by these four boys at this grueling level of
competition.
On the 9th May, the team returned to SOPAC
for the PSSA swim meet knowing their
preparation had put them in good stead. In
response to FTS’s queries regarding race day,
Elliot responded, “race day was pretty smooth,
everyone was a bit nervous naturally, as we
were ranked first, but everyone swam really
well under the pressure.” The four awesome
boys in red, white and blue succeeded again,
winning GOLD with a time of 1:48:03, another
PB. Tom Gojak described the feeling of winning
GOLD- ‘it felt pretty incredible to win, as we
were in the lead the whole way, and ended
it felt pretty incredible to
win, as we were in the
lead the whole way, and
ended up winning by three
seconds. Everyone was
geed-up, swam their best,
and it showed in our results
up winning by three seconds. Everyone
was geed-up, swam their best, and it showed
in our results’. Having come from second in
CAS to first in the State at PSSA is a huge
achievement and is testimony to all the training
we’ve put in for this event.”
Unfortunately, this is the end of the road for
the relay team, as the four best individual 50m
freestyle swimmers at PSSA progress through
to the Nationals. However, with role models,
like Ian Thorpe and Michael Phelps and
aspirations to win gold at the Olympics held by
members of the team, FTS is sure that we will
be seeing a lot more of these boys in the future.
Congratulations Tom, Kevin, Elliot and Zach.
An amazing achievement!!
5 Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill NSW Australia
Phone: 9327 9000 Fax: 9327 9033
Email: publications@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au
Portal Address: portal.cranbrook.nsw.edu.au
Chronicle team
The Fine Print Editors: Tom Gibson, Matthew Theophile
For the Lads Editors: Alexander Bogaty, Eddie Najm
Silver Lining Editors: James Broe, Jack Jahn
From the Stands Editors: Dugald Holloway, Tom Mahony
Focus Editors: Ben Grossberg, Max McGrath
Publication Editors: Ms Nisbet, Ms Duke, Ms Snowden
Layout Artists: Ms Brooks, Ms Hodgson
All material must be submitted in electronic form. The deadline is Tuesday 9.00am
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