The Southbrook Swimming and Diving team has been on an exceptional run during the 2021-22 season. The individual efforts of star senior Samir Souidi have paid off as he qualifies to compete in the New York State Championship Meet. Souidi has been a pivotal member of the Southbrook program since his freshman year, and he has now earned the opportunity to make a splash in one of the biggest individual meets of the season.

For Souidi, earning a States qualification was a goal he had his eyes on for a while. “Last year, I missed the 500-yard freestyle state cut by around two seconds, but I wasn’t too stressed by it because of the fact that States weren’t held that year due to COVID-19,” Souidi said. “Now, I have the state cut by over a second and look to drop at least five or more seconds and hopefully get All-County (top three) in the event.”

Souidi has dominated his competition this year. He currently boasts a 24.66 in the 50-yard freestyle, 50.86 in the 100-yard freestyle, 1:50.15 in the 200-yard freestyle, and a 4:51.46 in the 500-yard freestyle. Souidi has placed first in eight individual events and 10 relay events in eight meets. 

“Swimming 20 laps under five minutes isn’t easy, but with Samir ‘s determination and work ethic, he has been able to achieve this,” said Soutbrook coach James O’Hara. “Samir has also grown as a leader during his senior year and is a confident captain helping lead his team.”

Souidi has kept his teammates involved and in good spirits. “He usually leads the cheer at the beginning of the meet, or he’ll pass it on to the meet captain, and that is a show of leadership and a great way to get us motivated,” said senior Jack Carroll. 

Southbrook holds an impressive 7-1 record through its season with quality wins over Great Neck North, Sewanhaka, and Farmingdale. The team has one final meet against Great Neck South before the regular season concludes and the postseason meets commence.

With the exhibition season coming to an end, the focus for Souidi and the Southbrook team turns to the championship matches. They have tough competition to face, so the team is making sure they are fully prepared.

“I’m treating states like how I would usually go into a bigger competition: just sticking to what has worked for me in the past, which is practicing 7-10 times a week leading up to the competition,” Souidi said. “Around two weeks out from the meet, I’ll start to decrease the amount of yardage and the intensity level I do in practices to get the muscles ready to race,” he added.

O’Hara plans on increasing the intensity while making sure his guys are ready to compete when the time comes. “Clark and I want to see our swimmers excel at Divisions, Counties, and States and will add some challenging workouts in the pool to help our team achieve best times,” O’Hara said. “As we approach the State meet, we will be able to taper the workout to give everyone some needed rest before the big meet.” 

Souidi has also been a valiant swimmer outside of school. He is a member of the Long Island Express swim team and will continue competing in Division II swimming and diving next year at Southern Connecticut State University.

The 2022 States meet takes place in Ithaca, New York. Carroll and the rest of the team’s swimmers are ready to support Souidi at the big meet. “We’ll be there cheering him on when he’s doing his thing at our big upcoming meets,” Carroll said. “We’ll be supporting him the whole way.”