The sound is warped by the water, but the cheers of Sam Oyler’s teammates still radiate through the water as he competes in the 100-yard breastroke. His arms cut through the pool’s ripples as he emerges from the water and sneaks a silly look at his teammates on deck. Their cheers and shouts break into laughter and quiet snickers.

Whether doing swim practice drills, racing at a meet, or mentoring in and out of the pool, senior Sam Oyler brings enthusiasm and commitment to everything he does, inspiring and brightening the atmosphere around him. 

Although swimming is a huge part of his life today, Sam wasn’t always a swimmer. As a child, he played soccer until his parents pushed him to try swimming. From there, it was love at first dive. He joined the club team M3A, formerly Midway Aquatics, in kindergarten and has been a member of the team since. This year, Sam committed to Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, for NCAA Division III swimming. 

As a ninth grader, Sam joined the U-High boys swimming and diving team and has enjoyed the community and familial aspects of the team.

“I think some of my best memories from swimming have not even been the ones inside of the pool but outside when I’m on deck during a swim meet and one of my close teammates is swimming, and our entire team is cheering and screaming for them,” Sam said. 

Sam also contributes largely to the team atmosphere through his captainship and stands as an inspiration to his fellow teammates.

Junior Simon Gans, who has been on the swimming team for three seasons, looks up to Sam as a mentor and appreciates his guidance and positive attitude during hard practices.   

“We also compete in the same strokes and events,” Simon said, “so having him there to talk me through things when I don’t understand stuff or when I need support has been very helpful.”

Swim meets can often feel long and tiring, but Sam always brings up the team spirit with his enthusiastic chants and pre-meet pep talks.

“Usually whenever someone is swimming, we go up and cheer them on and I feel like that’s really special for the swimmer,” Simon said. 

Outside of the pool, Sam is a peer leader who mentors underclassmen. According to peer-leader coordinator Meghan Janda, Sam’s authentic approach and high energy help him connect with his advisees. 

“I think peer leading means a lot to him,” Ms Janda said. “He holds himself to a high standard and it comes out in such beautiful ways.” 

One of his advisees, sophomore Mila Bhatoey-Bertrand, values his cheerful personality and ability to include everyone.  

“Sam is a very positive person,” Mila said. “He always tries to keep our advisory high energy and engaged in the activity at hand.”

During advisory, Sam and his co-peer-leader Naomi Benton, like to play New York Times games with the class. Although Mila feels she is not very good at the games, Sam’s encouragement makes her feel recognized and supported. 

One of Sam’s greatest sources of joy is when he gets to give back to the swimming community. On the weekends, he is a swim instructor at Lab’s Sunny pool with his club team, M3A, and has taught ages ranging from 3 to 45.

“It just feels like I’m able to pass on the thing that I’m so passionate about and have done my whole life to these younger kids who might go on to join the actual swim team,” Sam said. “I think that’s really cool. It’s almost like a full circle moment.”