The Niles North Boys Swimming and Diving team hosted senior night on Jan. 27 versus Maine West.

The North JV team succeeded Maine West 127-9; the varsity team also won 114-54. 

The celebrated seniors are the following: Mo Abdelmagid, Yaseen Hussain, Phillip Pham, Matthew Hristov, Nicholas Pham, Mark Cherny, and Yousef Sheikh. 

The races were decorated with the cheer of supportive peers across both teams. After the diving portion, families walked their swimmers through an underpass of underclassmen and took pictures with their families behind the blocks. 

“We’ll miss them, for sure,” Boys varsity coach Seth Orlove said. “The boys have gone through a tremendous journey. I mean, their freshman year, there was Covid, but we’re ending on a good note here with conference and sectionals coming up. I’m proud of them.”

During their freshman year, their season was cut short due to Covid. However, they overcame this obstacle and have been holding significance to every lap in the pool. 

Saying goodbye to the seniors has been a bit difficult for some of the swimmers. 

“A part of me is excited to see where they go,” Sophomore freestyler Robbie Divelbess said. “But at the same time, I’m kinda sad that they’re leaving. Hopefully, at least a few of them will come back to visit us.” 

The seniors feel that the season’s ending is bittersweet and that they will miss their time on the team. 

“I’m ecstatic,” senior breaststroker Philip Pham said. “Of course, I’m sad to leave, but I also can’t wait for college and for my future. I think being on the team prepared me well because I learned important skills such as accountability for yourself, and also for others. ” 

As the season comes to an end, it is evident that many of the swimmers have grown close to each other, and that their bond has only strengthened throughout the season. IHSA State Sectionals will be held at 1 pm on Saturday, Feb. 18, at the pool here at North. The team hopes to receive support from their peers.