Lack of effort, dropping grades, unbelievable amounts of free time, breakdowns in speech, the inability to even: Senioritis has many visible symptoms which manifest themselves in the life of a senior. This year we can add one more: joining boys’ swimming. From the cross country runners to Chris Lee, swimming seems to have become an outlet for boys whose fall sports have finished and who just want to try something new while staying in shape. “I just figured that this was my last chance to try it.” senior Jackson Griffith said. “Plus it’s a nice way to stay in shape without running in the cold.” And indeed it is. With over 12,000 yards of grueling workout a day plus weights, swimming appears to have become an acceptable alternative to Polar Bear Jogging (PB&J) for runners, and is a good way to cross train to stay in shape for track, soccer, and keep in shape from football and cross country. Chris Lee is one of those cross trainers, preparing for soccer in the spring. But he also loves the atmosphere of the swim team. “With the sheer amount of concussion I had last year, I haven’t really wanted to do any contact sports or school work, and swimming lets me avoid doing both!” Lee said. “Plus, they guys who do it are great!” But is cross training the only reason that people have been going out for swimming later in their high school career? The team doesn’t think so. “It’s simple,” 4-year senior Alex Lelonek said. “Swimming is just the greatest sport that you can possibly do! I mean, it has the best people, the most rewarding work outs, and you can eat whatever you want! Who wouldn’t want to do it?” Jack Espeset is a runner that has been on the swim team since freshman year, and sees it as a way to hold his pristine form without running in the nasty weather. “It’s very important to keep your core strong throughout the year.” the senior said. “Running during the winter is hard on your core because it hurts your ability to run distances.” All kidding aside, many of the boys around Ames High are considering swimming as a good alternative for many of the other winter sports. Not only is it a good work out, but it is a great team atmosphere, it’s fun, and you can see yourself improve exponentially with the great coaching staff. “Just do it! I love it more than Greer loves Hannukah” Lee said.