Hinshaw breaks record, leads team at CCS

Santa Clara Swim Center roared with cheering on May 21. People screamed in the stands and athletes stopped mid-warm-up to watch as eight swimmers cut through the water. It was event 16, the boys’ final heat of the 500-yard freestyle.

The clock raced—4:17, 4:18 4:19.08. The crowd erupted as senior Adam Hinshaw hit the wall, stopping the timer. He had smashed the previous CCS record of 4:21.54, set by his brother Ben two years ago.

“I had an idea going into this race that I could get it,” Hinshaw said. “Well, I started, and I realized that if I wanted to get under 4:20, I just had to keep pushing it and never get into a comfort zone.”

Fourteen Saratoga swimmers and one diver competed at CCS Preliminaries on May 20. The next day at CCS Finals, two individual swimmers, Hinshaw and junior Ian Burns, and two relay teams returned and netted the Saratoga boys fifth place overall. A medley relay and a diver, senior Lauren Gardanier, scored points for the girls.

Despite the successes of these select athletes, the Falcons did not place in the league rankings as well as in recent years.

The varsity boys hold a 1-5 league record, with the sole win against Lynbrook. The girls have a 2-4 record, with victories over Homestead and Lynbrook. At the SCVAL Finals meet between all seven schools in the league, the girls and boys placed fourth and sixth overall, respectively.

Nevertheless, varsity swim coach Kristen Thomson said that the whole team’s performance pleased her.

“[The team] did great,” Thomson said. “We got a lot of best times for the season. I think that there is so much support there, both at Leagues and at CCS.”

Hinshaw placed second in the 200-yard freestyle and first in the 500. Burns finished fourth in the 200-yard individual medley and first in the 100-yard freestyle. Gardanier took fifth place for girls’ diving.

“We didn’t have many swims, but the ones we did have were phenomenal,” Thomson said.

Thomson attributed the success of HinshaProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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and his brothers, Ryan and Ben, to their work ethic and devotion to the sport.

“I think we’re going to see the name Hinshaw for sure,” she said. “Keep your eyes peeled out at the next Olympics. There’s a lot of talent and dedication and hard work with that family.”

Hinshaw, like his brother Ben, will swim for UC Berkeley next year. Gardanier will attend Yale University and continue to dive.

“Lauren was definitely a key part of the team all four years that she was here,” Thomson said. “She really has done a lot being the sole diver. She was the diving team, and I’m really going to miss her.”

Thomson insists that next year looks promising.

“We’re [losing] a lot of big names, but we still have excellent swimmers and we have some wonderful freshmen coming in,” she said. “I think that they ended the year with a bang, and I wouldn’t change anything. We’re going to miss our swimmers, but I’m looking forward to next year.”