Waking up for a 5:30 am practice may seem extreme to most, but for swimmer and junior Sanjay Wijesekera, it’s merely his weekly preparation.

After the boys swim team’s undefeated regular season and second place finish at the state championships last year, Wijesekera is poised to help the team complete another successful season.

“Last season was all in all very good,” Wijesekera said. “I was able to consistently place either first or second in all dual meets in all my events.”

In last year’s state championship, Wijesekera individually placed sixth in the 100 yard butterfly and fourth in the 100 yard backstroke. In relay events, Wijesekera helped CHS place fifth in the 200 yard medley relay and second in the 400 yard freestyle relay. This season, Wijesekera hopes to take the team to the next level.

“I hope our boys realize that we can definitely beat Richard Montgomery at states this year, due to our great depth in talent and ability,” Wijesekera said. “Being a junior, I hope to set an example for some of the new swimmers and lead the way to a even better season than last year.”

Although Wijesekera makes a big impact in the pool, his contributions out of the pool should not be overlooked.

“He racks up a lot of points in meets and he cheers his team on and lots of the youngsters look up to him,” junior Neema Moayed, a teammate of Wijesekera, said.

Not only does Wijesekera possess the ability to earn a lot of points for his team, he also has the dexterity to elevate the skills of his teammates around him.

“He’s very talented and honestly watching him swim hard for his team is really motivating because you want to be able to swim as well as he does,” Moayed said.

Coach Christopher Tappis has a lot of faith in Wijesekera to be able to keep the team at the high competitive level it was at last year.

“Not only is Sanjay one of our best swimmers, but he is also one of our most versatile,” Tappis said. “He is capable of winning a variety of events in any given meet.”

On top of Wijesekera’s versatility, Tappis also believes that Wijesekera’s level of competitiveness gives something for the team to feed off of.

“When others see Sanjay competing hard, it inspires them to do the same,” Tappis said.