The journey together will minimize the solitude of swimming.

In swimming’s individualistic nature of competition, Le Jardin’s swim team members have banded together to support and encourage one another. The camaraderie lifts spirits and in turn resulted in some pretty fast times in the water.

In what’s been a pretty remarkable season, not one but two girls won titles at the ILH varsity championships.

No Bulldogs swimmer had ever won a league title prior to that.

Its junior varsity girls squad captured the ILH title earlier this month, edging ‘Iolani 56 to 55 to win the meet.

Thirteen of 14 varsity boys and girls swimmers have qualified for the state swimming and diving championships that begin Friday at the Veterans Memorial Aquatic Center.

“Being a part of this team experience has been phenomenal for me,” said freshman Emilee McDonald. “This is an up and coming team and I feel I’ve been able to help build it up. … It’s really nice.”

First-year coach Joseph Glenn encourages his team to work together and support each other in part to minimize the individual aspect of swimming. When the focus is on the bigger picture, swimmers are more likely to ease up the pressure they place on themselves.

“Swimming can be a very individualistic sport,” Glenn said. “You look at your own time and whether you’re improving or not. The reason I do that is to take the pressure off the individual. If you see your performance as contributing to the team, in a way you free them up from the individual pressure they’ll put on themselves.

“If they have this bigger thing behind them, it takes the pressure off a little bit and becomes more fun.”

McDonald echoed her coach’s beliefs. She said she would “love faster times, but what I’m learning with this team is it’s more about the journey.”

“There’s good pressure and there’s bad pressure,” McDonald said. “As a swimmer, I’ve been struggling to find that middle point for that. Having your teammates behind the blocks saying ‘good luck’ and then seeing them all up in the stands saying ‘go, Emi,’ I can do this, I have my team supporting me. Even if I don’t do well as I wanted, they’re still behind me.”

At the JV championships, varsity swimmers dressed up and turned out with posters to support the underclassmen.

“This team has so much passion for the sport and so much spirit,” said freshman Abigail Mitchell. “I’ve never seen that much passion in swimming. I’m happy to be a part of that.”

Mitchell won the 100-yard breaststroke at the ILH varsity championships in 1 minute, 9.25 seconds. Mitchell said if a teammate outperformed her, it will only help the team out.

“It’s for the whole team,” Mitchell said. “If I have a teammate in an event, I want them to do just as well as I’m doing. I don’t care if they beat me. I’m happy for them because we’re a team.”

Le Jardin’s team size pales in comparison to those at bigger ILH schools. But the small size can help a team build cohesiveness.

“We’re very small for our team, but I feel like I have a personal relationship with everyone on the team,” McDonald said. “I feel like bigger teams, it’s harder to have that. It’s focused on swimming, but we are definitely more of a family than some of the other teams are. We have really great team spirit, so I feel like we have something to bring to the table.”

Le Jardin has brought much to the table with a diverse cast of swimmers. Some have been competing for years, while others are just getting back into it after taking some time off. Others primarily compete in water polo and paddling — two sports Le Jardin has found success in.

“We’re unique because we all come from different backgrounds,” said Nick Pederson, the program’s lone senior and a member of last year’s boys team that finished fourth at states. “We all have different reasons for swimming, different small reasons for swimming, but we all share the main reason, which is to swim faster and to achieve new feats.”

Junior Clancy Doyle, who won the ILH 50 free title in 24.56 seconds, competes primarily in water polo. She said Glenn’s presence has changed the squad.

“It’s really fun; having the new coach for our school has really helped our team,” said Doyle. “We’re doing a lot of new sets that he’s brought in from his coaching. It’s very different from what we’ve been doing before. I think it’s helped everyone.”

Glenn said Doyle is a swimmer constantly looking to improve. She’s also a key member of the Bulldogs’ relay teams.

“She’s got speed, she’s just willing to hurt every day and push past the point of pain to where she’s at,” Glenn said. “A lot of talent and desire, just wants to get better every day.”

Doyle said she’s looking forward to the relay events at the state meet. Her teammates will be there supporting one another in their journey together.

“I’m looking forward to mostly swimming with the relay team because all the girls are fun,” Doyle said. “All the girls are pretty close this year friendship-wise. Being able to be open with each other is great.”

THE TOP 10

Voted on by coaches and media from around the state. First-place votes in parentheses. Ten points for first-place votes, nine for second, eight for third, etc.

ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

BOYS
B.J. Hosaka
Hawaii Baptist basketball
The senior guard scored 29 points — all over the final three quarters — as the Eagles beat Hanalani to win the ILH Division II title and clinch a state tournament berth. He scored 32 points three days before that in a win over Le Jardin.

GIRLS
Chanelle Molina
Konawaena basketball
The junior guard averaged 21 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 3.7 steals per game to lead Konawaena to the Division I state championship. Molina shot 56 percent from the field (23-for-41) and 71 percent from the free-throw line (15-for-21).