Girls Swimming Wins first Meet of the Season
December 8, 2021
On Tuesday, Nov. 23, the girls JV and Varsity swim team competed and won against Portage at home. After training for months, the team’s hard work was shown through in their win.
“I feel that today’s meet went well. Our girls swam very well and I think we should all be proud of ourselves,” Megan Soeka (11) said.
A new season comes with new strengths and new weaknesses. All freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors have to work together to utilize their strengths and make sure they put effort into everything; even when they aren´t racing.
“Some strengths we have, I feel, is our teamwork. Everyone on the team knows each other and supports each other during their races,” Abigail Burton (12) said.
Like every other sport, swimming is an individual and team sport. With fast swimmers and strong relay teams, a team is able to score more points and have a better chance at winning the match. However, in order to do this, the team must practice. By having morning and afternoon practices, Burton explains that the team practices not only their types of races but also strength training.
“We practice in the morning from 5:00 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. We have practice every weekday after school from 2:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. and we lift on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. We also have practice on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to10. So on average we have about four hours of practice every weekday,” Burton said.
However, since this is only the first match of the season, the girls still have many competitors to come and many goals to overcome. For Soeka, her goals are to shave off seconds on her time and help the team in any way possible.
“I am looking forward to cutting my times and helping to lead the team and try to keep a positive attitude this season. My goals are to place at Sectionals, cut my times and just overall be a good leader and role model for the girls,” Soeka said.
With high dives, scores and morale from Tuesday night’s competition, the girls JV and Varsity teams look towards their next competition, Tuesday Nov. 30, against Valparaiso. The girls will continue to train throughout the season. Even with some swimmers trying new events, the team was able to win with a far lead.
“I feel the team and I all swam very well at this meet. I noticed a lot of people doing best times in their races or doing well in the new [events] that they were trying. Overall there was a positive vibe to the whole meet,” Burton said.
