This is the first in a series of profiles featuring Pioneer senior swimmers.
Pioneer swimming – those two words are filled with a pool full of tradition, expectations, pressure and unequaled success. Isaac Almeida has not only experienced all that “Pioneer swimming” stands for but has been a big part of helping the program live up to such lofty expectations.
“What makes Pioneer swimming so good is a combination of a lot of things,” he says. “For one, our coaching staff is unmatched in terms of unlocking each swimmer’s full potential. Next, the team has a massive legacy to uphold and that inspires many people to surpass all expectations.”
Almeida and his senior teammates were certainly inspired. The group of swimmers NEVER lost in their four years – not a dual-meet or tournament.
“The mindset here is that winning the state championship is the most important thing,” Almeida said. “That means that every meet and practice is an opportunity to get better.”
So, four state titles. Any stand out?
“The state championship in 2022, my sophomore year, stood out to me a lot because it was my first time competing at that level,” he says. “I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped but I remember collecting medals for one of my teammates and that really inspired me to earn my own.”
This year was a huge success for Almeida, not only from a team standpoint but also when it came to personal goals. In the backstroke, Almeida was ninth (52.79) and took eighth in the butterfly (52.96) at the State Finals.
He also swam on two relays. Pioneer started the meet with a fourth-place finish in the medley relay as the team of Almeida, Jensen Wood, Edward Zhang and Christopher Leuciuc finished in 1:34.25. In the 200 freestyle relay, the Pioneer team of Baumhover, Kline, Almeida and Leuciuc was third in 1:25.85.
“Personally, my highlight was placing second in our dual meet against Saline, which made the difference and won us the meet,” he said. “Obviously in terms of team highlights, winning the state championship and not losing a single dual meet are very impressive.”
At last year’s State Finals, Almeida was 16th in the IM and sixth in the backstroke.
Almeida started swimming when he was around 6 for the Vets Park summer swim team (now the Ann Arbor Octopods). “I liked the teammates and I had my coach Evan who really evolved my love for swimming,” he says. “There was a lot of pressure early on at Pioneer. Having people like Matthew Segal be one of my first captains put a lot of pressure on me as it was the first time I had swam with such talented people.”
Isaac, 18, the son of Staci and Thomas Almeida, plans on swimming for a club and attending college at either Michigan State or Michigan Technological University.
