Luo Looking to Leave Mark at Bridgewater

Junior swimmer Victor Luo has the chance to do something out of the ordinary.

On Sunday, the Bridgewater-Raritan boys swimming team won the 2011 Public A State Championship, 122-48 against Cherry Hill East. The win gave the Panthers back-to-back state championships, a first for the storied program.

Now, with high hopes for next season, Luo and the junior class of swimmers will have the opportunity to win an unprecedented third consecutive state title.

“We’re hoping that we can do it again,” Luo said. “We will need everyone to step up next year. We’re about to lose a lot of fast kids, but we’re confident that people will be able to fill in."

"We had a lot of good freshmen, and our sophomores swam very fast this year," he added. "Hopefully, we can do well next year and make it back to the top.”

Luo has been a vital member of the Bridgewater swim team since his freshman year. As a sophomore, he set the school record in the 200 individual medley (IM)—the previous record stood at Bridgewater for 22 years and was the oldest record to ever be broken. 

Head coach Sean Foley said he understands how important Luo is to the Panthers if the team wants to return for a third straight title.

“Victor has been ‘Mr. Automatic’ in the IM and breast stroke this year,” Foley said. “The only kid that has really beaten him all year in the IM is Nick Fink from Pingry. He has been the catalyst because we know we can count on him every time we drop him in the pool.”

Luo has been a swimmer for more than half of his life, which has helped him perform at the highest level.  Beginning when he was seven years old, Luo also played baseball and soccer until swimming became his main priority.

“My parents kind of pushed me into swimming,” he said. “At first, I was intimidated by the other kids because I was the smallest. After a while, I just started to really like it and decided to keep going with it.”

But from the looks of his quick success, Luo has made the right choice. Behind a strong core of seniors and a surprising crop of underclassmen, the Panthers team this year was one that Foley called one of the best he’s had a chance to coach.

“It’s pretty cool that he thinks that highly of us,” Luo said. “We have a pretty strong legacy now, and we’re looking to build on that.”

“Individually, I wanted to break some barriers in certain events, such as the breast stroke this season,” he added. “I knew that if our team swam as well as we did last year, that we had an opportunity to repeat, which was obviously our main goal.”

With this season in the books, Luo and his team have only the future to look forward too. 

Next year, the Panthers have a lot to potentially accomplish, which would make the class of 2012 one of the best group of swimmers in Bridgewater history. The team has the opportunity to three-peat as state champions, as well as repeat as county and conference champions.

For Luo, there are other goals that he would like to complete. He wants to continue his swimming career when he graduates high school, but admits that it is a little too early to decide on where.

“I would definitely like to swim in college,” Luo said. “I’ve only started looking a little bit. I’ve talked to a few coaches through e-mail, but no one can make any official offers yet.”

With what he’s already accomplished and a strong year next year, he’ll be able to choose wherever he wants to go to college. This is something that almost seems like a certainty in his coach’s eyes.

“Victor is so consistent,” Foley said. “He’s always consistent at the highest level. We know that he’s going to give 100 percent every time he goes in there. It has been a pleasure to watch him swim and do what he does, and I know he’s going to continue to have success in the pool.”