Akwesasronon Breaks County Record

Tomeks Oakes, son of Jay Oakes from Akwesasne, broke the Section 9 and County record for the 200 Individual Medley at the Section 9 (Catskills Counties) Swim Meet in Goshen, NY. The 200ft IM is where you swim all four strokes, an impressive feat of stamina and skill. His team, the Pine Bush Bushmen, won overall at the Boys Section 9 Swimming Championships, winning 200-yard medley and 200 freestyle relays.

To make it to Section 9 swimming championships, 6,000 swimmers are competing across Section 9 counties to make it to the final meet, with only 650 making it. For the past couple of years, Oakes' team, The Bushmen, placed 7th or 8th at their lowest out of the 650. On top of being Section 9 Pine Bush High School's swim captain for the last two years, he also swims for the New York Sharks, a travelling team out of Goshen, NY.

Oakes has recently qualified and will attend a swim meet in Tampa Bay, Florida, in July, along with his younger sister, who is also the captain of the women's swim team at Pine Bush.

"The swim meet will allow the two to experience competing more nationally," said his father, Jay Oakes.

Oakes is also beginning to train to be considered for the Olympics and has received offers from multiple colleges, each considering his swimming achievements, though he has been offered scholarships based on his academics alone, with a 4.0 GPA. His teammates and parents well respect him as a team captain and student.