The Seymour High School swimming and diving team presented awards during a banquet Thursday.

The program, which had 52 athletes this past winter, concluded the 35th season under coach Dave Boggs’ direction.

The night included a dinner, awards presentation, comments from captains and more.

The boys and girls teams combined for a 23-6 record, and the boys team boasted its 26th consecutive winning season.

Awards were given for the 110 percent, mental attitude, most improved and most valuable.

The most valueable went to Maren McClure for girls and Dalton Polley and Devin Ramsey for boys.

The award goes to those who receive the most points during the season.

“I’ve never had a diver win it more than once, and this is his third,” Boggs said of Ramsey, who was runner-up at the state meet.

Most improved went to Samantha Jacobi and Johnny Isaacs, who received the loudest applause of the night.

The award goes to those who improve the most from Day 1 until the end of the season.

“A really good job there,” Boggs said of Isaacs, who improved his time from a 2:30 to under a 1:20.

Marcequi Vasquez and Daniel Hartman received the mental attitude award.

“They display a good attitude day in and day out in practice and in competition,” Boggs said of Vasquez and Hartman.

Abby Boyt and Trevor Layne received the 110 percent awards.

“They work hard day in and day out, in the water, dry land or weight room,” Boggs said.

Awards were presented to Ramsey Layne, who competed at the state meet.

Ramsey missed winning state by 3 points, but Boggs said he was proud of his effort and for placing second. He said he was proud of Ramsey’s attitude following the meet, too.

Layne finished 18th at the state competition with a time of 58.56 seconds in the 100-yard breaststroke.

Boggs shared a letter with the team he received from an alumni who wrote him following the conclusion of the season.

The letter was encouraging to all of those who participated on the team, and those who sang the National Anthem at the state meet, and Ramsey and Layne for their achievement at the finals.

The writer also included a donation to the program.

Boggs said he has enjoyed being part of the community in Seymour because of its support over the last 35 seasons. He said he wanted to spend time at a school where the successes and failures were his.

“Seymour has been truly great, supportive and encouraging for me,” he said. “I get a lot of cards and message from alumni.”

This group was special because it was a different make up, which provided a lot of variety.

“It was a montage of everything and it was fun to put all that together,” he said.

As talented as the team is in the pool, what makes them stand out is their ability in the classroom.

During the banquet, coaches shared that the team had an average grade point average of 3.7.

Boggs said his program has always stressed the importance of academics because, after all, the team is a group of students.

“Sports are fun, clubs are fun and extracurriculars are fun, but we’re here for education,” he said. “This is their future and I always tell them they need the best grades and tests scores to give themselves the best chances and opportunities for a successful career. That’s what it’s all about.”

With the rigors of a swimming schedule like early-morning practices, late nights getting home from a meet, balancing school work and life and more, the sport can be difficult on its participants. The practice schedule pretty well lasts the entire year.

“It takes a special kid to do this,” he said. “I think it’s because of the discipline. It’s a tough sport and that discipline carries over into their academics.”

Bogg said he has had 47 Academic All Americans since he’s been at the helm.

“It’s a part of our culture, pure and simple,” he said.