12,000 yards.
It's a distance that Mount Whitney High School swimming coach Stephen Chapman, a former Porterville star, came up with as a benchmark to prepare for championship season.
In preparation for the 2024 campaign, the Pioneers had four days where they swam 12,000 yards each day.
Why 12,000?
“In high school, I ran 4,000 yards at Porterville High School, but I didn't think that was enough to win the Valley Championship,” Chapman said. “I only had half the number of guys, like the other team, so I did a little math in my head: 'If I want to beat everyone, I've got to win my events. To win the events later in the meet, I've got to be in better shape than everyone else.' I just ran three times as far as everyone else.”
more:'Why not us?': Woodlake wins Central Section Division V softball championship
All that hard work led the Pioneers to compete in the 2024 Central Section Division II Swimming Championships, held May 4 at Sierra Pacific High School in Hanford.
The Pioneers took first place with 250 points. Reedley was second with 175.5 points and Exeter followed with 174 points in the 39-team tournament.
Mount Whitney also made school history by becoming the first team in program history to win a sectional championship in boys swimming.
“It all started with the boys,” Chapman said, “understanding their mindset. We all came together as a team with one goal in mind, which was to win a Valley championship. That's not my fault. That's the boys' fault.”
Chapman, who played collegiately at Pepperdine University and Fresno Pacific University, joined Mount Whitney's coaching staff prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year. He also serves as the men's water polo coach.
The Pioneers have their sights set on winning a district championship in the fall.
The water polo team finished the 2023 season with a record of 9 wins and 15 losses, but the taste of defeat inspired them to fight through the spring.
All 12 members of the Pioneer water polo team (Chandler Breton, JD Chandler, Matthew Farkas, Hukam Gil, Juan Gonzalez, Tanner Lopez, Alejandro Martinez, Lucas McMann, Jackson Radmacher, Ruben Ramirez, Quinn Ray and Connor Roman) swam at Chapman this spring.
That continuity has made the transition to the spring season easier.
Chapman developed an offseason training plan that included several two-day practices and strength training in the weight room.
How much of the Pioneers' extra training in the weight room has paid off in the pool?
“It was really helpful,” Chapman said. “Most of our swimmers had never swam or played any sport before, so we were able to develop a strong base of fitness. We also incorporated endurance circuit training, which really got our middle and long distance swimmers in tip-top shape for the season.”
more:'They fought with all their might': Linsday baseball team loses to Chavez in finals
Lopez starred in Mount Whitney's championship meet, winning the Central Section Division II individual titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle. He took first place in the 50-yard freestyle in 21.57 seconds and won the 100-yard freestyle by more than a second in 47.05 seconds.
Lopez, a junior, also served as the anchor for the Pioneers' championship relay teams, which won both the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Lopez is undefeated this season in both the 50-yard freestyle and the 100-yard freestyle events.
“He wants to get better and better and he's hungry to get better,” Chapman said of Lopez. “As a coach, it's just fun. He has me looking at things to help him improve his technique, the little things and get better times.”
The foursome of McMann, Roman, Ray and Lopez won the 200-yard freestyle relay and the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Pioneers captured the Division II championship in the 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:30.11 and won the 400-yard freestyle relay by more than three seconds in a time of 3:18.55.
Roman also had a strong individual performance in the 500-yard freestyle, taking second place in 4 minutes, 57.85 seconds.
“It really started with water polo,” Chapman said. “The guys had a great season but didn't have the results they wanted. So when swimming started, the guys came to me and said, 'Coach, we want to win and we'll do whatever it takes to do that,' so I pushed them as hard as I could.”
“The boys practiced so hard. Everyone was committed. Everyone really wanted to win. They were willing to do anything. It was fantastic. It was fun. It was really awesome to see the boys come together as a team, grow and love the team and work so hard and want each other to succeed. Everyone was rooting for everyone. At the tournaments they were all counting points together and wondering if they were going to win. It was just amazing.”
