On January 4th, the boys swimming team walked into their home pool ready to win. However, this meet was different. There was more riding on it. At this point, the boys were 3-0 in their young season completing Coach Armen’s, 97th, 98th, and 99th wins. Now the pressure was on to beat Wayne Hills and get the 100th win for Coach Armen.
Entering the season the team had known of the upcoming race and were determined to reach the 100th win. Min Bae, a sophomore on the boy’s team shared, “Someone had told me earlier in the season that we could potentially win 100 for Armen. I knew we all wanted to be apart of that so from the start of the season we just kept working really hard to ensure wins.”
There is no question of Coach Armen’s loyalty to the team. Armen has coached the team for 20 years and he still manages to make heartfelt connections with each member and truly makes each year a special experience.
The team, over 50 kids big, is a fun, inclusive environment that welcomes students of all levels. Alex Cho, a sophomore on the boy’s team explains, “Armen works really hard to create an enjoyable experience for everybody and tries his best to give everyone a chance to participate. He makes the morning practices fun by integrating trivia questions that give us an incentive to learn more about the team’s history.”
Mady Raguindin, a sophomore on the girl’s team explains how when she got sick in the beginning of the season Armen would consistently reach out to her to make sure she was doing okay. Armen truly cares about each individual on the team, Christian Piergentile proudly stated that “nobody deserves their 100th win more than him.”
The entire team agrees that there was nothing but excitement felt for Armen. Sophomore Fionn Kinsella says, “It’s truly a testament to Armen and how good of a coach he is so I’m proud of him and I’m proud of the team.”
After the boys had finally scored their win for Coach Armen, there was a huge celebration. Between cupcakes, flowers, and posters the booster club parents had truly outdid themselves. The boys’ team all stood their surrounding their proud coach, taking a picture with all the goodies the parents had brought when suddenly the boys captain, KJ Smith, pushed Coach Armen into the pool. Armen laughed as he was joined by the rest of boys team in the water.
Being pushed into the cold pool, to then have to walk out in wet clothing in the middle of winter isn’t exactly an ideal situation, but Christian Piergentile explained, “Armen is a good sport and appreciates when we all have fun as a team.” When asked if he thought that Armen had known that he was going to get pushed in, he shared, “I honestly do think that Armen had a strong hunch, and I really do think he enjoyed it.”
