Swimming is one of those sports that has solitary elements, but is ultimately a group effort. There’s individual awards, but the whole team has to contribute to get there. As they look to send a few boys from their nearly 40-person squad to the state championships this spring, Oxford’s swimmers and divers are keeping this in mind.

“It’s an individual sport. But at the same time, it’s very much a team sport,” said sophomore Zach Beatty, one of the team’s top point-earners.

At the Oakland County Championship meet a few weeks ago, freshman Carson Wolf was the first boy on the team to qualify for the state meet this spring. The rest of the team will have the chance to make the state cut the Last Chance meet next month. Many of the hopefuls are milliseconds away from swimming a qualifying time.

It’s not every year that a freshman gets to compete at states, and the team is excited Wolf got there. When he makes his first states experience, he’s hoping to swim the best he ever has in the tough 200 Individual Medley and the 500 Freestyle.

“I’m looking forward to going to my first high school state meet,” he said. “I’m hoping to drop time and lower my personal bests.”

Beatty, who also made a freshman appearance at the championships last year, said the meet is a one-of-a-kind experience. He hopes to make another appearance this year and bring some teammates along with him.

“It was eye opening to just look at all of these top swimmers and be like, ‘Wow, I’m with them and earned my spot here.’ It was a cool experience, and I have confidence that I will get a cut as well in a couple of weeks,” he said. “We have a few more shots to achieve our cuts.”

“I would hope to take the entire team,” Wolf said. “I hope everybody can make it.”

Wolf, Beatty and sophomore Ben Datsko are just a few of the underclassman that have the state meet in mind and have been powerhouses all season. Head Coach Jackie Rank said she has more club swimmers, like the three boys, coming through her program than in the past, and those younger athletes are well-versed in the basics and have the endurance to perform well.

“We have a lot of depth on our team from all of the grades, but I would say the bulk of our power is definitely from the freshman and sophomore classes,” she said.

But, the boys still recognize the seniors as the team’s leaders.

“Typically it’s the seniors that lead the team, and they do lead us as our captains,” Datsko said.

The seniors are still seniors, and they use their experience to lead the younger boys to stay on track. Even senior John “JJ” Bagans, who dislocated his shoulder at the team’s first meet this season and still wears a sling, comes to practice and meets to encourage his team.

“They lead by example and being very vocal about what’s expected of their teammates,” Rank said.”They make sure they’re always doing what’s expected and just keep the boys on-task and motivated.”

Rank said it’s the whole team that ultimately gets a few athletes to the state meet. Even if a swimmer or diver isn’t a standout, the role he plays is vital.

“The whole team is involved in the winning of the dual meets and the winning of the league meets,” she said. “And even if somebody is not a point-earner, they’re still a motivator on the team to push the other guys to better themselves. We definitely couldn’t do it with just the point-earners. It would be a much different team without the whole group.”

And for the boys that do go the long haul, they know it’s their team that gets them there.

“As much as it hurts to push yourself and as much as you do want to quit sometimes, you have your entire team surrounding you and pushing you forward,” Datsko said.

“Having our team behind us is something that is truly remarkable and has made this something I truly enjoy,” Beatty added.

Even though its very much an individual sport, the fast boys like Wolf have every other Wildcat on their mind as they race. It’s not about a personal record, it’s about the team.

“I’m thinking about who I’m trying to beat in that race or, if my goal is to break a certain time, what I need to achieve to break that time,” Wolf said. “But for our dual meets here, I’m more concerned about beating the guy next to me so that our team can do good.”