Courtesy of Brian Beard

The men’s swim and dive team made a splash at the 2026 NESCAC Championship last weekend, hosted by Colby College, finishing in seventh place between Hamilton College and Middlebury College. The Polar Bears opened and closed the weekend by breaking school records with an eighth-place finish in the 800 free relay (6:45.94) and a third-place in the 400 free relay (2:58.82). The Polar Bears broke a total of 13 program records over the weekend.

Jack Tran ’26, who smashed four program records and won the 50 fly, owed the week’s successes to the team’s mindset.

“For our 200 free relay, we knew what we were capable of doing, and we knew that there was gonna be a race between us, Bates, Williams and Tufts,” Tran said. “We really just wanted to race, have fun and enjoy the moment.”

Micah Sher ’27, who was part of the record-breaking 200 and 400 freestyle relays, echoed this sentiment.

“I’ve been swimming for maybe 16 years of my life, a very long time, so my mindset was [that] I want to have fun with it, [that] I deserve a year where I can just enjoy and appreciate everything I’ve done for this sport,” Sher said. “I was going in with a lot of energy, a lot of fun, low expectations and not so much pressure. I feel like that really helped me do well.”

Head Coach Brad Burnham said that consistency was also key to building up to the team’s success at NESCACs.

“Our sport is rather straightforward: Work works. The guys put in a ton of hard work and did it with a ton of enthusiasm. They kept the energy up and trusted their training. There weren’t any special training methods, and the guys deserve all the credit for taking advantage of the time they had together,” Burnham wrote in an email to the Orient.

Sher added that, although swimming is primarily an individual sport, the team’s encouragement was paramount in this championship.

“This weekend, we really showed that it’s the team’s cheering, the team’s energy that gets you through the meet, rather than figuring it out for yourself,” Sher said.

Other strong performances included Chase Shapiro’s ’28 new program records in the 1000 freestyle and 1650 freestyle, Raphael Grand’Pierre’s ’27 B-cut and new record in the 100 fly finals and Jaran Depew’s ’27 record in the 200 butterfly. The team also took second place in the 200 free relay, setting a new school record.

Next up for the team is the NCAA Championship, with multiple Polar Bears earning B-cut times. Five members are expected to head to Indianapolis for the national meet from March 18 to 21.

“I think we’re sixth in the nation for our 400 relay and the 200 free relay.… So, of course, trying to podium finish on that would be amazing on the main stage,” Sher said. “After that, it’s about focusing more on mobility, locking in a little bit more training, a little bit more yardage, getting ready for next season…. So there’s a lot that’s going to change, and just kind of starting the process over.”

As the season comes to an end, there is much excitement for the incoming class of first years, who are expected to bring a new wave of energy to the team.

“I’m super proud of all of the guys this year. [This year] was supposed to be kind of a rebuilding year.… Last year, we had six seniors that graduated, so the team was smaller,” Tran said. “In the fall, most of our guys were abroad too, so then we had 12 guys. So that was a rough semester, but when everyone came back, it was really fun, and the next year, it looks like a really fast [first-year] class. I’m looking forward to keeping up.”