(COVINGTON,La.) — St. Paul’s School has had a great tradition of  a winning sports program. One sport with a history of success that most people don’t know about is the swimming team, who won a state championships in 2000 and finished fourth as a team at state last year.

“Last year, we were a young team and finished fourth; this year we are aiming at a third place finish. Considering the size of our team, that’s pretty good,” team co-captain Jack Dubreuil said.

This year, the Aqua Wolves are led by the the three-headed monster in the tri-captains of Dubriel, William Munn, and Jacob Elliot. They are backed up by accomplished swimmers such as juniors Griffin Guzan and Harrison Prieto.

“We have swimmers of quality, not quantity, and that’s what makes this team so unique and diverse from other schools in the district and state. This year will go down, in my opinion, as one of the greatest in St. Paul’s swimming history,” Munn said.

Most people don’t know how much time and effort that the swim team puts in. Sports teams at SPS practice usually between two to four days a week. The swimming team practice four to five times a week for a total of eight to ten hours of practice a week.

Most sports games take about two-three hours, but swim meets are much longer.

“Usually three to four hours. Sometimes they last six to seven hours depending on where you go and how far you travel. We have meets at the University of New Orleans, also at Tchefuncta, (Pelican Athletic Club), Kehoe and Slidell,” Dubreuil said.

“At the state meet, we beat Fontainebleau, Mandeville, all the teams in our district, and everyone on the Northshore. This year’s goal is to exceed last year. We would like to win the district meet this year and finish in the top three at the state meet,” Dubreuil said.

“If everyone keeps working as hard as they are, we are going to be a powerhouse in swimming. There has only been one meet, and we aren’t even at our potential yet,” Munn said.

The SPS Wolves captains are flanked by Guzan, state champion in the hundred fly, and Prieto, contender in hundred backstroke, who are both state and nationally ranked. Prieto, Guzan, Elliot, and Jack Chang set a state record as a relay team in the two hundred IM relay.