Chase Wilcox, 14, shocked the Oakhurst Country Club Swim Team when he broke two pool records and placed first in the 11-12 Boys A Division 50 Yard Backstroke at the 2021 Concord City Meet.

After a growth spurt between the ages of 13 and 14, Chase returned to the competition pool in 2023 with a new aptitude for swim racing and refined competitive spirit.

The Concord City Meet is the penultimate competition of the summer swim season before the Contra Costa County Championship Meet. Chase chose to compete in the

individual medley (IM), breaststroke, and freestyle. This was his last chance to achieve

a county time in the 50 yard freestyle.

“My biggest goal for the season was trying to get county in all five strokes,” Chase said after finishing swim practice.

Chase spent the summer of 2023 preparing for the city-wide swim meet by attending team practice everyday and volunteering as a junior coach.

By the weekend of the City Meet, he earned county times in all strokes except freestyle. He placed second in IM the day before; freestyle was next. This was the moment he’d been training for all summer long.

Chase swam a 25.49 in his 50 freestyle final race, qualifying him for the county meet in the event and closing out his swim season by achieving his goal. Despite being the fastest 14-year-old swimmer on the Oakhurst Orcas, Chase shared that the swim team community is what he takes away most by being a member of the team.

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