The student news site of Stillwater Area High School

The Pony Express
The student news site of Stillwater Area High School

The Pony Express
The student news site of Stillwater Area High School

The Pony Express

Ciana Fragnito, Social Media Reporter

Ciana Fragnito is a junior at Stillwater Area High School. She has attended Stillwater Schools since kindergarten. She has been a competitive swimmer since age nine swimming club and joined the high school team in ninth grade. Outside of swimming Ciana enjoys spending time with her family and friends doing stuff outside. She writes for the "Student Life" section and is a social media reporter running the Facebook page.

All content by Ciana Fragnito
The team is very large in numbers and were joined by many new faces this year. “We have a big number of new girls this year that are coming from the swim and dive team. Having a swimming background helps so much when learning this sport so its really nice that we have such a big crossover,” junior Claire Summary says.

Synchro team shoots for success

Ciana Fragnito, Social Media Reporter
May 2, 2017
Coach Kathy who grew up in synchronized swimming and competed varsity for stillwater from 1988-1991 still continues to enjoy the sport but now from a different perspective. “I’m not sure I can even put into words how much I love coaching this sport. It’s such a great combination of athleticism and creativity. The swimmers have to be strong, fast, and mentally sharp. In addition to that they have to convey a theme and perform to music. There is never a dull moment, and perfection is never attained so there is always work to do. One of my favorite parts is seeing the progress and improvement in our swimmers. It’s pretty awesome what we can accomplish in a short 3 months,” coach Kathy Henderson says.

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Synchronized swimming is unlike any other sport with the use of many different muscle groups all at the same time. “Synchro is different because it uses different muscles and the movement around the pool is different. We cross the pool and go to the sides or cross diagonally. Synchro is a lot of leg work too,” junior Claire Summary says.

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The team puts in countless hours to have the success they do in a sport so unique from many others. “The thing I like most about this sport is that others don’t have is the ability for one to go out into the water and look so effortless and enjoyable even though they are working every muscle in their body to the fullest,” senior captain Grace Gualtieri says.

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The successes of the team come from the dedication and hard work each athlete puts in during each long practice. “I think one of the reasons we are so successful is our length of practice. For example a person with one routine practices for 2.5 hours, someone with two practices for 3.25 hours, and someone with 3 routines practices for 4 hours. We also spend our entire Saturdays at the pool which is extremely helpful when we are writing our routines. We also have a lot of coaches. The high number of coaches helps each swimmer with individual issues which allows the entire team succeed,” junior Claire Summary says.

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The team stands by and watches as a teammate completes her beam routine. One can feel the sense of team from watching as the girls are constantly cheering and encouraging one another. “We have grown so much just within the season, and are continuing to grow with our skills, and that has allowed us to score much higher than in the recent years,” sophomore Peyton Classon says.

Gymnastics team prepares for sections after topping long-time competitor

Ciana Fragnito, Social Media Reporter
February 13, 2017
The team has many posters hanging around the gym reminding them each day of what they are capable of “Our mindset the whole season has been hopeful. Last year I believe we werent confident enough, but this year we have a very good balance. We are confident in the meet with our skills, but we also know that we have to do our best to win,” junior Danielle Keran says.

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Coach Traci Swenson coaches as the team prepares for floor routines. “The girls worked really hard in the off season and continue to work hard in practice on increasing difficulty and being consistent and its not about who were facing but about going out and having everybody do the things they can do as well as possible,” Swenson says.

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The team cheers one another on as they perform their beam routines. “New faces had a big impact on us doing good because they bring a lot more to our team! Also we definitely are a very close team but we always have been so that isnt that big of a change,” junior Danielle Keran says.

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The team is constantly encouraging one another and believing in themselves as individuals as well as a team “We knew that we had to believe in what we could do. we knew that we had so much potential with our team and if we just competed how we knew we were able to, it would be okay,” sophomore Peyton Classon says.

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Photo by Ciana Fragnito My grandma was a frequent Macys shopper and bought all Christmas presents from Macys, junior Nicole Ingram says. Many other shoppers each have their own traditions that now are going to end as this historic building closes.

Downtown Minneapolis historic Macy’s closes

Ciana Fragnito, Social Media Reporter
November 15, 2016
An everyday skirt you can find for sale at a local store anywhere near you.

Jean skirts return for modern trend

Ciana Fragnito, Social Media Reporter
October 11, 2016
Starbucks brings back pumpkin spice

Starbucks brings back pumpkin spice

Ciana Fragnito, Distribution reporter
September 23, 2016
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