Peter Casares has been the head coach of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ swimming and diving program for 13 years.

One of the first things he did after his hiring was offer lessons for schoolchildren in the community. One of his first pupils was 9-year-old of Lewiston. 

“Matt would come in on Sundays two or three times a month to work with me one-on-one,” Casares said. “And when we decided to run a swim camp, I mentioned to him, as a 9-year old, ‘You know, you’re a good swimmer, you learn really well, I can tell this matters to you. So maybe you should look into this swim camp we have.’â€�

Video by Aaron Morse.

Charest attended that swim camp and immediately fell in love with it.

“Getting to stay overnight really got me interested in ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½,” Charest said. “Getting to have food at the dining halls was amazing for me as a kid, getting ice cream all the time.â€� 

The now-senior captain of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ men’s swimming and diving team returned every summer, first as a camper and then as a counselor, becoming a Bobcat for life.

Matt Charest as a young boy at the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ swim camp. (Photograph courtesy the Charest family)

“The thing about Matt is that he is an extraordinary leader by example,” said of Augusta, Maine.

“All the way up from being swim campers together and doing morning practices when we were counselors together. And now, seeing him in practice every day, I look over and he’s kicking really hard, and he’s moving, and I’m like, ‘Man, I can’t lose to Charest!’â€�

Next up for Charest and his team are the NESCAC Championships, Feb. 20–23 in Williamstown, Mass., where his goal is to qualify for NCAAs in March, in a relay event.

Matt Charest ’20 is an “extraordinary leader by example,” says teammate Nathan Berry ’23 of Augusta, Maine. (Brewster Burns for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College)

Graduation is just a few months away, but the past 13 years have given Charest, who hopes to coach his own swim team one day, a proud connection to ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ that few others can claim.

“It will always be a part of me,” Charest said. “And I can’t thank this pool enough and everybody that’s supported me enough. So, it’s bittersweet, but I’m excited for the future.” 

An economics major and math minor from Marblehead, Mass., senior swimmer Sarah Daher is a numbers person. Here’s a number she never anticipated: 17.

That’s 17 All-America awards over three years, the most any ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ athlete has ever achieved in any sport. And she’s done it all with a smile.

“One of the things I’ve learned since freshman year is, you swim your best when you’re having fun,” said Daher a few days before the team headed to Shenandoah, Texas, for the NCAA Division III Swimming and Diving Championships, which are now underway.

“I try to create a very light and fun environment for the people around me and just have them enjoy the atmosphere and the moment.â€�

That spirit has elevated the entire team, says head coach Peter Casares.

“The biggest impact she’s made is her effect with all of her teammates. She is fantastic at leading lanes, at doing things right, at inspiring others, and supporting and encouraging others. There’s not a meet that goes by where I don’t just sit there and go, ‘Wow, are we lucky.'”

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College senior diver Andrew Hastings of Weston, Mass., will compete at the NCAA Division III men’s swimming and diving championships for the fourth time in his career this weekend, March 21-23. The meet is being held at Miami University (Ohio) and is hosted by the College of Wooster.

Hastings, who has won six All-America honors in his three previous trips to the NCAAs, will look to become the first Bobcat named an All-American in all four years at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½. He is a two-time All-NESCAC performer and four-time All-New England honoree, including winning the New England title in the three-meter event as a first-year diver in 1999. His top finish at the NCAA championships was a fourth-place finish in the one-meter event as a rookie and fourth in the three-meters in 2000. This year he finished third at the NESCAC championships in the three-meters and fifth in the one-meter.

Midway through the winter season, six ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College student athletes have qualified for the NCAA Division III championships. Three students from the swimming and diving teams have qualified, as have three from the indoor track and field teams.

The Bobcats’ most recent qualifiers were a pair of first-year members of the women’s swimming and diving team. First-year diver Kara Seaton of Wayne, Pa., has broken school diving records in three of the Bobcats’ six meets this season. Against CBB rival Colby College on Jan. 19, she established a new school record in the 3-meter event with a score of 255.60, meeting the NCAA standard for the first time after coming within 10 points on two previous occasions. Seaton also holds the record in the one-meter event, scoring 241.60 in the season’s opening event at Trinity College Nov. 17. She needs to meet the NCAA qualifying standards twice more in the season’s four remaining meets to ensure her berth at the NCAA Division III swimming and diving championships March 14-16 at Miami (Ohio) University.

Seaton’s classmate, Vanessa Williamson of Auburn, Maine, a product of Edward Little High School, has also qualified for two events so far. Against Colby on Jan. 19, she broke her own school record in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:08.50, missing the ‘A’ qualifying standard by just a hundredth of a second. She is ranked 11th in the nation in the event. Williamson also qualified for NCAAs in the 100-yard butterfly against Colby, posting a time of 1:00.08 to place her 34th in the nation.

Senior diver Andrew Hastings of Weston, Mass., has qualified for the NCAA championships multiple times this season. Hastings, a six-time All-American, has only lost once in 11 events he has competed in this season. Most recently, he broke his own school record in the three-meter event Jan. 12 at Babson College with a score of 320.68. It was Hastings’ first NCAA performance on the three-meter board after qualifying several times on the one-meter, including a win over the defending national champion at a Jan. 6 meet against Middlebury College. Hastings is attempting to become the first ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ athlete to win All-America honors in four years in a row.

The Bobcat track and field teams have qualified three student-athletes in the throwing events. Senior captains Jaime Sawler of Stratham, N.H., and Greg Hurley of Arlington, Mass., who both qualified for the NCAA Division III championships earlier in the 2001-02 season, each improved their seeding for the championships at a triangular meet at MIT Jan. 19. Sawler, a two-time All-American in the hammer throw outdoors, qualified automatically for the NCAAs in the 35-pound weight throw with a winning heave of 59 feet, 7 1/2 inches. He is now ranked third in the nation in the event. Sawler will make his third trip to the indoor championships, to be held March 8-9 at Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. Hurley took second in the weight throw with a toss of 54-6 3/4, improving his season- and career-best performances by nearly two feet. He is currently ranked seventh in the nation.

Sophomore Liz Wanless of Belleville, Ill., is the sixth Bobcat to qualify for the NCAAs. She broke her own record in the shot put with a heave of 42 feet, 11 inches. Wanless took second in the event at the University of Southern Maine Invitational Jan. 12. Wanless set the previous mark of 40-11 in her only meet of the 2000-01 season. She also qualified for the NCAA championships on a provisional basis. She is currently ranked sixth in the nation in the event. Wanless’ toss was one foot shy of the automatic qualifying standard. A trip to the NCAAs would be the second for Wanless, who was a key part of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ run to the Sweet 16 of the 2000 NCAA Division III volleyball championships.