Five years since their last state swimming championship win, the boys on Iowa City West High School’s swim team are taking home the title once again.

The team claimed the championship while competing at the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center Feb. 15. The state win was the first for Trojans Head Coach Byron Butler, who was an assistant coach during the team’s last state championship victory five years ago.

Butler has been coaching for seven years, and as head coach for the last four. When he assumed the position in 2016, Butler said, he knew the team was in a rebuilding stage.

This win differs from the team’s last in 2015, he said. This time, the team’s energy was different, Butler added.

“When reflecting on past wins, the major difference this time around was the depth we’ve built over the past four years,” he said. “Last time, it was more or less four or five guys scoring the points that were needed to win the meet … This team has more swimmers involved so they’re closer and more invested in each other’s swims.”

Butler said the team qualified 13 swimmers for the meet and 11 of them scored points.

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He knew there was a possibility that the team would win the title, but he still wasn’t expecting it, Butler said. This win was a team title earned by all the Trojans at the meet, he added.

The energy of the Iowa City West team was crucial to their success, said Tory Rose, third-year assistant coach for the girls’ and boys’ swim teams at Iowa City West.

“Our goal has been to really make a team out of the guys,” Rose said. “We make sure that they all know each other’s names and spend time together. That helps so they can all cheer for everyone, regardless of if it was varsity or exhibition.”

Rose said that, although the team’s seniors are graduating and its dynamics are expected to change, she’s confident that the sophomores and juniors on the team will pick up where the upperclassmen left off, fostering the same atmosphere that lifted the boys to their latest win.

“There’s definitely going to be a big shift next year because we will lose the seniors who [were] great leaders for the team,” Rose said. “But I think that the juniors and sophomores will be able to step up and fill those [leadership] roles.”

Iowa City West Assistant Swim Coach Jordan O’Donnell said the key to the team’s success at the state meet was the feeling of it being a family that Butler focused on creating in his time as head coach.

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“Each swimmer stepped up on Saturday,” O’Donnell said. “They supported each other throughout the meet and didn’t let a bad race get to them. [The team’s] continued support of each other kept them going and they charged forward. This team has a very bright future.”

The impact of this win, however, extends much further for the Trojans, said Iowa City West High School Principal Gregg Shoultz in an email to The Daily Iowan.

“[This title] validates the great things that are happening around the school,” he said. “Coach Butler also instilled a great feeling of camaraderie with this team. It was very evident after the team was awarded the trophy and they all jumped in the water, including managers, assistant coaches and everyone. They are truly a team.”