KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The Loy Norrix High School girls swim team has achieved something that's going down in school history — a perfect 60-0 record spanning six years without a single meet loss.
Walking into the Loy Norrix pool, banners tell the story of an unprecedented winning streak. The team's dominance has become legendary in their conference, with 60 consecutive victories over six seasons.
"I would say it's really rare, especially in our area," said Lillian Mahar, a senior on the team.
The pressure to maintain such success weighs on each new season's athletes.
"Going into the season, I definitely felt the pressure a lot. I was definitely worried," said senior Abby Milliken.
But those concerns proved unfounded as the team continued its winning ways this season.
The team's reputation precedes them at every meet. Junior Ella Perl described the psychological advantage: "It's cool to be like, feared in the conference. Yeah, they're like, 'great, they're here.'"
The success isn't just about intimidation – it's backed by serious athletic achievement. Black pieces of tape covering the pool's record board mark where new records need to be displayed, evidence of the team's record-breaking performances.
"It felt like we had accomplished so much. And all the work that we put into this program…not finally paid off, because we had won, but it just felt really good," said Lauren Rafferty about reaching 60 consecutive wins.
Every athlete contributes to the team's success, including the divers who can provide crucial points in close competitions.
"I think diving…if it's a really close meet..it can almost be like what makes you win. Because if you win diving, you get 6 additional points for everyone else," said junior diver Allison Frankart.
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Head coach Paul Mahar has spent 21 years building the program to reach this level of excellence.
"A lot of time on task. A lot of devoted parents and athletes have worked with us to build this program," Mahar said.
The foundation for success starts early, with the program connecting young swimmers at the elementary level.
"We started getting a lot of kids connected in Kalamazoo at an early age, at the elementary level. So they have a lot more years of competitive swimming before they get to high school. So we became very competitive in the last 10 years or so," Mahar said.
For Mahar, who experienced many losing seasons before this streak began, the achievement represents more than athletic success.
"Never thought that would happen. Each year the target gets bigger," he said. "It just tells me that we have a lot of great kids at Loy Norrix, who really care about their sport and their school. It's shining a light on Loy Norrix athletics."
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