From left, Harpswell teens Keegan Rowe and Aidan Saunders stand in front of the pool at the Bath Area Family YMCA after swim practice on March 13. Rowe and Saunders recently earned state and conference titles in both individual events and relays. (J. Craig Anderson photo)
Keegan Rowe and Aidan Saunders may still be in their teens, but they’ve already been swimming together diligently for well over a decade.
The two Harpswell residents, both 18 and seniors at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, recently earned state titles at the Maine Principals’ Association Class A championship swim meet, as well as first-place finishes at the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference meet.
Parents, coaches and school administrators praised the two teens for their hard work and dedication to competitive swimming. Keegan and Aidan, who’ve been swimming together since they were 6, said their longtime friendship has been a great asset as they’ve continued to push each other to improve.
“Aidan and I were best friends back then, and it was actually him who encouraged me to join the team,” Keegan said in a recent interview.
At the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class A championship swim meet on Feb. 10, Aidan and Keegan won the boys 200 medley relay along with junior Josh Langworthy and senior Bradan Leeman.
Keegan also won the boys 200 individual medley and boys 100 butterfly, while Aidan won the boys 100 breaststroke. Keegan was named Class A Boys Performer of the Meet.
In the Maine Principals’ Association boys Class A championship meet on Feb. 19, Keegan earned state champion in the 100 butterfly, and Aidan earned state champion in the 100 breaststroke. Both boys also were on the winning teams for the boys 200 medley and freestyle relays.
Aidan and Keegan said competitive swimming, at both the high school and club levels, has become a major part of their lives and has brought them many personal benefits.
“It’s been a constant in my life,” Aidan said, adding that consistent practice keeps him in shape and helps relieve daily stress. “It’s also hugely about the team and the social aspect — I’ve met a lot of great people (and) most of my friends are on the swim team, either Mt. Ararat or (Bath Area Family YMCA’s) Long Reach (Swim Club).”
Aidan’s mom, Michelle Saunders, credited Harpswell Community School’s Learn to Swim program for helping the boys develop fundamental skills and get their competitive swimming careers underway.
“Students would travel to Bowdoin College on Wednesday mornings and ‘Learn to Swim’ through a Red Cross-certified program,” Michelle Saunders said via email. “With the Learn to Swim program, both Aidan and Keegan learned additional swim and lifesaving techniques.”
She said the program, along with their participation in the Long Reach club, “propelled both boys to be very competitive swimmers throughout their youth.”
From left, Aidan Saunders and Keegan Rowe as children. The friends and now state champions said they have been swimming together since they were 6 years old. (Photo courtesy Michelle Saunders)
At a recent school board meeting, Maine School Administrative District 75 Superintendent of Schools Heidi O’Leary praised Keegan, Aidan and the entire Mt. Ararat team for their outstanding achievements in swimming. The past four years have been the most successful ever for the high school swim team, due in no small part to the boys’ contributions, according to Mt. Ararat swim coach Steve Butts.
“Both young men are just extremely dedicated,” Butts said in an interview. “They’ve put a lot of time and effort into the sport. … As a coach, it’s just been phenomenal to see the effort they put in every night in practice.”
He said both teens came to the high school with their swimming skills already highly developed, thanks to the years of work they put into their youth swimming programs. The nightly practice they’ve put in at Mt. Ararat has taken their abilities “to another level,” Butts said.
Aidan and Keegan credited Butts and their current and former Long Reach coaches, Jay Morrissette and Brian “Sponge” Savage — as well as support from their parents — for helping to shape them into the swimmers they are today.
Both swimmers said they plan to continue competing after high school. Keegan plans to attend Worcester Polytechnic Institute for mechanical engineering while swimming for the Massachusetts college. Aidan plans to study computer science at either Wheaton College in Massachusetts or Ithaca College in New York.
Keegan said competitive swimming has paid dividends that have made it worth all the time and effort he and Aidan have put into it, even though they’ve had to set aside other interests at times.
“Going into college, if you want to get where you want to be, you really have to sacrifice some things that you love and enjoy doing,” Keegan said. “It’s sad, but in the long run, it’s definitely worth it.”
Have a comment or news tip? Email J. Craig Anderson at craig@harpswellanchor.org.
