Junior Sayjel Parikshak

“When I was 2 years old, my parents signed me up to learn swimming as a survival skill. I ended up loving the water and I started taking swim lessons at a local swim club. When I was 6, the management of the club asked if they could put me on the summer swim team because I showed quite a bit of natural talent and ability. I joined the summer swim team and loved competing, and when I was 8, my mom finally signed me up for the Carmel Swim Club. From there on out, I swam competitively and joined the swim team at school.”

Noah Lichtenberg

“I swam at my neighborhood swim team when I was 5. For a couple years I swam for fun, but when I turned 8 I started swimming competitively. At that time though, I did a lot of other sports like basketball and others. At first I stuck with as many sports as I could, but since I had to choose, I chose swimming because even though it wasn’t my best sport, I saw lots of improvement then and I really enjoyed swimming.”

Senior Patrick Cavanaugh

“I started swimming in a local summer league and lessons program at Carmel High School through their aquatics program. My parents, at first, signed me up just so that I could learn how to swim and not die drowning, but as I got more lessons and swam more, I got better at it. Since I entered at an early stage, I also played football alongside swimming, but after ending up following the swim program’s progression, I decided to focus on swimming when I realized I was better at it than football and the risk of injury of football was too high for me. The first year I could do the Carmel Swim Club, which is competitive swimming, I joined. It wasn’t serious back then, but I started getting faster and faster the swim club encouraged me to stick with it so I could get better and get to higher levels, ending me up at the school team.”

Assistant Coach Elizabeth Flaherty

“When I lived in Belgium, the only sport at my school was swimming. When I moved to Carmel when I was 11, I started swimming for the swim club and swam throughout high school. After I graduated, I wasn’t really sure of what I was going to do with my life. Head coach Chris Plumb offered me a job as an assistant coach, and since I had a background in swimming and on the school team, I decided to take the job.”

Senior Lauren Busha

“I started swimming in seventh grade because my best friends got into the sport. I tried it out, and ended up loving it. I’ve been swimming for about six years now and it has honestly been the best decision I have made. It took lots of dedication, hard work, and patience to get to the level I am at now, but the nine practices a week are worth being a part of the Carmel Swim Team.”