Girls swim their way to another great season

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Jake Caywood

Fans watch as girls compete in the section meet on Nov. 10 from the packed stands at Stillwater jr. High school as students cheer on their teammates in the pool. "It gives a burst of energy when you hear the fans screaming and your teammates cheering you on," said sophomore Asia Nueman.

The girls swim and dive team has reigned supreme for the past 13 years and this year was no different. The girls went 8-0 in SEC and 9-0 on the season and look to continue their dominance at the section meets on Nov. 10-12.

The girls won their 14th straight conference title and completed another undefeated dual season which extends their streak to 119 dual meets without a loss dating back to 2002.

For many athletes on the team the highlight of the season came when the girls finished off an impressive undefeated SEC season and won the conference with a victory against one of their biggest rivals Mounds View 92-86 on Oct. 27.

“Beating Mounds View was a great way to close out our regular season, it’s always nice to beat one of your biggest rivals,” sophomore Madi Lather said.

At the beginning of the season many doubted that the girls could pull off another outstanding season due to the fact that the majority of the team is young, in fact out of the 80 girls on both JV and varsity teams, 39 of them are freshmen or younger.

“Even though our team is very young we can still keep up to teams that are primarily upperclassmen and I think our captains have done a good job being role models for the younger girls in and out of the pool,” sophomore Asia Neuman said.

Led by head coach Brian Luke the girls take on sections at Stillwater Jr. High School which should prove to be a big test for the team as they look to capture a section championship and make a trip to the state tournament. The girls have a great shot at a state tournament appearance after finishing the regular season on top of the SEC conference for the 14th straight year.

“We’re hoping to have a good section tournament and finish on top, but that’s easier said than done, we need to swim our best this weekend to make it to state,” junior Summer Jack said.

Regardless of the outcome of the section meets the girls have had a lot to look back on and be proud of this season, from winning the conference title once again and extended their infamous dual meet streak to 119 straight wins to having fun in the pool with their teammates.