Records are continuously broken, making athletes’ perspectives on them even more important. Athletes at East are chasing perfection, which is setting them apart.

East’s excellence has grown exponentially this year. East Athletics has outweighed all other high schools in the State, although this is not a surprise as the program has won the NSAA State Cup two years in a row. Swimming has outnumbered all other programs in terms of broken records, but boys tennis holds a close second with undefeated dual and individual records that are unprecedented, even throughout the state. Boys wrestling had a new undefeated dual record and a State Duals win this past season and bowling now has a new high score to beat, which will only make a new record harder.

The athletes that hold these records have a special mindset. Every athlete holds the confidence that with enough hard work, they will achieve their goal. On the flip side, most athletes hold pressure to achieve their goal again but every athlete emphasized using pressure to enhance their performance rather than letting it become a burden.

Senior Caden Haar, boys tennis player at East holds an unprecedented State record as a four-time individual and team HAC Conference and State, three time first all-team NSAA, one time second all-team NSAA, and a high school record of 166-0. This means for the past four years, Haar has been selected as some of the top players in the state, holding his dominant record. When asked how the pressure felt in the last match of his high school career, he responded with a mature answer that shows the passion he feels for tennis.

“I’d like to think of my last match as more than just maintaining my record but more sealing my career in stone and moving on to my next chapter of tennis, ” Haar said. “I think it was a reflection of giving it my all, and I really left it all out there.”

Many athletes are unaware of the record, some set that as their goal, and some simply know of it, but let it brush past them.

“I honestly didn’t give myself any time to think about it or let that get into my head,” Haar said. “I just needed to focus. There is no pressure if you don’t let it affect you, I would have people bring it up to me but I’d just address it and try not to let it affect my play.”

While some records involve times, boys wrestling’s is one of combined success with a new school record of winning State Duals, an undefeated dual season, and nine State medalists. These records are proof of the team depth..

“A team record is something you’re able to share with your teammates, a solo record you can’t relate that to anyone else but yourself, with a team, you enjoy it a lot more and you get to celebrate it with all of your buddies and friends and it was won through a collaborative effort of everyone,” Ryder Kruse, second place State finisher at 157 lbs. said.

The Lincoln East Boys Wrestling program is creating numerous highly ranked athletes in the state, not only one.

“Depth allows for greater resilience, as injuries or underperformance by one player can be mitigated by others,” Kruse said. “Additionally, depth can create a more adaptable team that can overcome different challenges by utilizing a variety of player strengths.”

Boys bowler, Ryan Whiston, shattered the high game record of 289 points. With the goal of breaking the record, his training kicked into gear, giving him clear direction.

“The moment I realized I had a chance to break a record at East was when I was 8 strikes in,” Whiston said. “I knew a record existed but I didn’t know what it was.”

Whiston described the passion he had to become better, which is what drives these athletes.

Lincoln East Boys and Girls Swimming is breaking numerous records annually, whether it’s a relay record or personal. Senior Avari Wischhof holds four individual records at East, and three relay records. As the top swimmer in the school, she has placed at State for every year of her high school career. Her most recent time, and personal best, she swam 23.76 in the 50 yard freestyle earning second place at State in 2025. Wischhof is the definition of a hard worker.

“I definitely put a lot of pressure on myself because I knew that I had a shot and I just want to continue to get better and better,” Wischhof said. “So I work on little details like starts, turns, finishes, stuff like that, especially with this year, breaking the 50 free record. I wanted to make sure that every aspect of my race was really good.”

Breaking a record can also mean reinventing a new perfect. And becoming better than perfect can seem like one of the most daunting challenges. In swimming, creating a new record means exceeding your previous best, an increasingly difficult feat.

“Over the years, I continue to push myself harder and harder so that I can keep getting better,” Wischhof said. “It has also been really difficult, but it’s also that much more rewarding because you know that you’re working so much harder and you’re really pushing yourself beyond… perfect.”

Beyond perfect is what every record entails.

“As you get older, it’s a lot harder to continue to get better because every time you drop time, it’s that much harder to be better than you were last time,” Wischhof said.

This is a common theme among swimmers. Eje Kim, sophomore boys swimmer, won State with East’s new record of 49.73 seconds in the 100 yard backstroke.

“Usually as a person progresses, in anything, it gets harder to improve,” Kim said. “It’s really just about fine details and making sure you’re there mentally when it matters the most. Such as during a hard practice.”

Carson Agnew, senior swimmer and top finisher at State for the past two years, broke the school record in the 100 yard breaststroke with a time of 55.53. Throughout his four years at East, he continued to make major progress, eventually becoming East’s top swimmer and one of the state’s best.

“I knew I had to do more than what everyone else did to achieve it and stay tunnel visioned with that goal,” Agnew said. “To get to the point of breaking the record was simply putting in enough work over the years to reach that breaking point, and putting in more work than you did the day before.”

Senior swimmer Jadeon Carter, the school record holder in the 200 yard individual medley, continues to redefine his weaknesses and mentality.

“Most people like to focus on one stroke that they’re best at and continue building their strengths,” Carter said. “However, when they do this, their weaknesses still remain constant. What I did was focus on my weaknesses more since my strengths were already worked on so that way I can be a better all around swimmer.”

He thrives on the atmosphere and even the pressure.

“I believe I handle the pressure well since I live for these moments,” Carter said. “The crowd, the atmosphere, the teammates and competitors cheering. I think they help ease the nerves and make me swim faster. Pressure I think is kind of a mindset because if you block out a lot of those bad nerves and have fun, you won’t be worried about performing great and most of the time, that’s worked for me and I’ve had the best times because of it.”

These athletes have all found a way to continue to raise the bar higher and higher through handling the pressure and taking on the challenge.