Wiscasset Middle High School swimmers Maria West, a sophomore, and freshman Nathan Gilliam prove no matter how small a team is, great things can still be achieved. 

The two athletes, coached by head coach Don Strout, Earl Brewerand Anneliese Pugh, have represented Wiscasset strongly this season. An individual agreement the school has with Lincoln Academy allows the swimmers to practice and compete with both Lincoln Academy and Boothbay Region High School. The Maine Principals Association allows schools to collaborate through individual or team sports via a process. The individual agreement allows the Wiscasset swimmers to keep the Wiscasset identity and swim as part of a team.

The unofficial team name they go by is Lincasset Bay Swimming. West and Gilliam are exhibition swimmers, and sometimes they are able to step up and fill in as competing swimmers on the relay teams of Lincoln Academy and BRHS when they are down athletes. The two swimmers work hard to achieve their goals by practicing five days a week alongside Boothbay and Lincoln academy students at the Boothbay Region YMCA. 

The athletes get a good mix of workouts throughout the season. Brewer, an assistant coach, is a certified water aerobics teacher and can provide the swimmers with a workout before warmups. They occasionally do dry workouts, too. The swimmers feel fortunate to get the amount of pool time they do. They get the whole pool for 90 minutes at a time, which is an opportunity not many other schools get. The team also provides a valuable system for the swimmers that allows them to be bussed from Skip Cahill Tires to the Boothbay Region YMCA. Not only do both athletes put in a lot of time during their regular swim season from September to April, but they are also both USA Swimmers. West and Gilliam are part of the WCCU team at the community center and coach Lori LaPointe has been  important to their training. 

When asked to describe her experience on the team, West said, “I have amazing coaches who are very patient. You can definitely see that they put a lot of time into what they are doing. They also make sure that we always get the help that we need, no matter what. The best part of this sport is that anyone can do it. People think they can’t do it if they can’t swim fast but really anyone can do it. It’s so positive and it’s way better than any other sport I’ve done. Everyone swims and there are no problems, you really feel like a team and a family.”

Gilliam believes the season was a success for both him and West. Gilliam broke the school 500 freestyle record with a time of 5:29.80. He also placed ninth at the State Meet in that event, and 11th in the 200 freestyle. West competed in the 200 individual medley and the 100 breaststroke.

The two competed at the State Class B Swim Meet at Bowdoin College in Brunswick on Feb. 19 and 2o. This year, the Class A and Class B State Meets were dedicated to Strout. His years of dedication have not gone unnoticed. This will be his last year coaching and he will be missed.

West and Gilliam are hopeful more students will join them on the team.