Athletes of the Week: Andrew Benson & Charlie Venci
At the sound of the whistle, senior Charlie Venci preps himself on the blocks in his signature pose, arms set as if ready to run a race. Once the official calls out, “ Swimmers, take your mark…” Venci bends down, gripping the edges of the block. At the sound of the buzzer, he launches off and dives in like an arrow. Cutting through the water with power and determination, Venci begins to immediately pull ahead of the other swimmers, with the team erupting with excitement on the deck. Reaching for the wall, Venci does it again with yet another outstanding win for Exeter.
Venci along with senior Andrew Benson are the captains for the Boys Varsity Swim Team this year. Together they have led its team to many phenomenal victories this season. They are not only exceptional swimmers, but compassionate friends and teammates always trying to provide a fun team culture with traditions and fast swims. “They always bring that extra level of energy.” Coach Avery Reavill adds.
Venci began competing at the age of 5, for a small country club team, where his mother once swam for when she was a little kid. After swimming for Exeter Swim Club, and later at PEA for 4 years, his mother was eager to take Venci down the same path. “She enrolled my brother and I in swim lessons at age 3 and pushed us to compete as soon as we turned 5.” Venci goes on to explain how his reluctance quickly turned into a love for his new sport. “I was hesitant at first, but I started swimming for a club team at age 7 and everything took off from there.”
Elaborating on his start with swimming, he said right from the beginning, “I have always loved the sensation of being underwater. It's like being on another planet.” Going on to mention how this aquatic sport has impacted him, he says, “ I love to race and compete. I hate to lose and I get fired up for weeks at the thought of making a mistake or losing a race. I have always worked to produce the fastest possible version of myself on race day and I always look forward to my next shot at the podium.”
Co-Captain Benson had a similar beginning with the sport of swimming, starting at the age of six doing swim lessons with his mother at their local pool. Benson then elaborates more on his swim journey, “From there, my family encouraged me to join a swim club and my swimming career took off. I swam on the Exeter Swim team for a few years with some success before transferring to my current club team, SOLO Aquatics. Later on, I joined the Phillips Exeter Academy swim team and began to swim year round on both my high school and club teams.”
With both captains sharing an early love for the sport, it is no coincidence that they have created such a close yet competitive bond over the years. Venci shares his first encounters with Benson. “I met Benson when we were twelve years old at a New England Championship Meet. Over the next few years, we slowly grew closer through many races against one another … When I learned that he was coming to Exeter, I was thrilled.” Venci compliments his co-captain Benson saying, “His talent, work ethic and enthusiasm for the sport of swimming have been tremendous assets to our team over the last few years. We push each other extremely hard in the pool and … I am honored to have known Andrew for this long and I know that swimming has given us a bond that will exist long after our swimming days have ended. Benson also shares his sentiments writing, “Chazz is my best friend, I am truly honored to have him as my teammate and co-captian. He makes every yard I swim all the more worth it.”
The bond this year’s captains have is reflected in the team’s atmosphere at practice and meets. The Boy’s Swim team truly wouldn’t be the same without Chazz and Benson. Upper Josh Yu talks about their investment to the team and overall atmosphere, “They work together to create rosters for swim meets and plan workouts. They don’t take everything seriously, which is a good mentality in my opinion. Chill vibes very nice.” He also notes, “They like to hype people up and get us excited to race.” With admiration and awe, upper Adam Tuchler says, “Benson is like ‘Toothless’ from DreamWorks, How to Train Your Dragon. He is the fastest and he is missing a tooth.” In the words of prep Patrick McCann, “Chazz does a great job at rallying the home crowd to support his team during home meets such as Friday night’s meet against St. Johns.”
In practice the boy’s have an exciting environment, both training and racing hard with traditions like “throwdowns”. Throwdown swims: When two swimmers race against one another in order to gain the title of champion in different events, but Benson and Venci threw a little twist on this old tradition.“One thing that I'm really glad Chazz and Benson introduced to the swim team is the "throwdown belt," which is a championship belt that we give to the winners of ‘throwdowns,’” says senior Benjamin Cai, who continues to praise, “Chazz and Benson consistently get the boy's team excited for racing and this belt is a collective measure of every swimmers' enthusiasm and pride for the sport and each other.”
Despite their contributions to the team, they have had many individual successes and strengths. Cai says “Chazz has a more easy-going personality; he encourages swimmers like me to speak up for ourselves and set and pursue our own goals. Benson is definitely not afraid to challenge us, especially through sets that he designs himself,” naming some of it’s captains strengths. Lower Pedro Coelho then notes,“Both Benson and Chazz are extremely supportive. Coming in new to varsity as a ranger, they really made sure that the rangers aren’t treated differently than the full varsity swimmers. After all, we’re all here to practice because of our love for swimming.” Coach Reavill also describes the responsibility Venci and Benson take on for the team, “Their support for their teammates is incredible. They always want everyone to swim fast and chase after their personal goals, at the same time though they make sure their group is still excited to perform for each other as a team.” Benson has collected an assortment of records over the years, ranging from the 100 breast to 50 free to multiple relays. From school records to New England records, Benson sets the standards high for fast swims and a competitive environment amongst the Exeter Boy’s team.