Portola High School is home to many accomplished athletes, including three girls and three boys swim captains. Of them, Blayze Borroto and Andrew Quach have been committed to their respective teams for all four years of high school. Let’s take a look at how these two senior Bulldog captains part waves.
Blayze Borroto
Girls swim captain and senior Blayze Borroto participated in a recreational swim team for 11 years, which motivated her to aim for the position of girls swim captain at Portola High after joining junior varsity her freshman year and moving up to varsity her sophomore year.
Borroto has served as a team captain since her junior year of high school. She organizes bonding activities and works to foster closer relationships between all members of the swim team.
“When I first got on varsity, it was harder to bond with people because some of them do swim competitively, and some of them do it recreationally,” Borroto said. “But I think that we were able, over the past couple years that I’ve been captain, to close that gap and make sure that everyone bonds over just the sport itself.”
For girls and boys swim coach Steven Riches, Borroto has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic, from showing up on time to encouraging other swimmers with her bubbly personality.
“She leads by example,” Riches said. “All of my great memories of Blayze are her standing at the end of the lane during meets, cheering on her teammates. She just shows so much energy.”
Andrew Quach
Senior Andrew Quach has been part of Novaquatics, a swim organization, for the past five years, which has contributed to his growth as a swimmer. Like Borroto, Quach also joined the team as a freshman and became a captain as a junior.
“One thing I’ve been working on this year, and I think I’ve been doing better at, is overall, just trying to get the spirit up at meets,” Quach said. “I know that sometimes swim meets can be pretty boring, honestly, and [I am] trying to keep the team engaged as best as I can.”
Quach has also shown himself to be a captain who leads by example, through what coach Riches describes as “quiet confidence” and a hardworking attitude.
“I think he’s confident in what he does, and people notice that, and I think they follow him because he is,” Riches said.
Riches noted that years after Quach first joined the team, “he’s more outgoing and is more interactive with the rest of the team, so he’s stepped up to be a great leader.”
