Girls swimming has been fighting hard this season and will compete at their conference tomorrow, Oct. 25. The team has had to brave adversity in the face of their accomplishments, making those accomplishments that much greater.
“The YMCA had a two week shutdown and we needed to find a pool to train at. Another challenge is just keeping the swimmers healthy so we can keep training hard,” head coach Chad Ganden said.
Besides team challenges, senior Mia Ceballos has faced new obstacles in the form of her current injury, but her and her teammates’ focus and drive remain the same going into this season.
“My main goal is to make it to state this year. I’ve made state all three years, but it’s a little more difficult this time,” Ceballos said. “I haven’t been able to practice as much as I used to, and my times are down due to my current injury.”
To qualify for state, she will need to get a qualifying time at sectionals on Nov. 8.
“One of my goals this season is to get better at butterfly and drop my time to 1:17,” junior Abigail Taylor said.
Team morale remains positive as team chemistry continues to improve.
“A lot of us swim together or against each other during club season, so it is always fun to be a part of one big team at the start of school,” Taylor said. Swimming plays an important role in the development of the swimmers’ personal character, especially for sophomore Lauren Wojciechowski.
“My swimming experience has been incredibly important to my high school career. It’s taught me discipline, time management and perseverance, which have all helped me both in and out of the pool,” Wojciechowski said.
Similarly, swimming has greatly impacted Ceballos’ life, and continues to do as she looks to her future beyond high school.
“I’ve made a lot of friends I don’t think I would’ve met if I wasn’t swimming, and it’s offered a lot of new opportunities for me. Mr. Hanley and Torkelson are very attentive to me with swimming,” Ceballos said. “A lot of other schools don’t care about swimming, so it’s nice to have them care about me and the sport. I’ve always planned to swim in college, but I’m not sure where I want to go yet.”
