Girls’ swim continued their undefeated record with a 142-44 win against Quince Orchard High School on Saturday, Jan. 6. Swim and dive previously competed in meets against Whitman and Wootton, making their new record 3-0. Girls’ swim has proven to be a strong program at WJ, and they have continued this trend as many of their girls placed high in their heats this Saturday. Junior Isla Bartholomew won the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, junior Maddie Simmons won the 200 IM and 100 butterfly, sophomore Anna Bangert won the 50 freestyle, sophomore Zoe McGee won the 500 freestyle, senior Healey Morgan won the 100 freestyle and freshman Elanor Saybolt won the 100 backstroke.
The boys also fought to maintain their undefeated record, winning 128-58 against QO. Many of the boys had successful races, placing high and leading the Cats to victory. Junior Ray Mukoyama won the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, junior Noah Potter won the 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, junior Taiyo Murphy won the 200 IM, junior Dain Phillips won the 200 freestyle and senior Haden Rogers won the 100 breaststroke.
There are many opportunities to race with practices throughout the week and dual meets on the weekend, and with Metros and States in the coming months, swimmers are working through mental strategies and perfecting their technique.
“The series of dual meets we have is a great time to practice race strategy for our bigger meets like States and Metros, so I have been trying to maximize that opportunity,” senior captain Healey Morgan said.
Like other sports, individual performance weighs heavily on the outcome of the meets. That said, swimmers often reflect on their races, and how they can improve for the next time they are up on the block. For example, Potter reflects on his wins in this past meet and the improvements his can make during practice.
“I’m most proud of my 100 back because I put up a solid time…I’ve been working on my underwater kicks and getting stronger outside the pool. I’m going to continue working on my strength and my mental strategies before races,” Potter said.
Practice is also the time to work with others, especially on relays. Relays require multiple swimmers to connect with each other and understand people’s swimming styles to produce a well-swam race.
“The team has been working on relays, as they are a big part of why we win,” senior captain Matthew Martinez said.
Because swim spends so much time together, they have grown to be a tight-knit community over the past few years and this season specifically.
“The best thing about swimming on the girls’ team is that everyone is really nice. I already knew a few people from my club swimming, but the older girls have been really kind, including me in a lot of activities and conversations. As a freshman especially, I feel like I know everybody,” Saybolt said.
Dive was also quite successful in their meet against QO. Junior Kai Lawson was the dive winner, meaning he got the highest score out of the six divers in the meet with help from his 103b (front 1 ½ flips in the pike position), 204b (back double flip in the pike position), 304c (reverse double flip in the tuck position) and 5233 (back 1 ½ somersault with a 1 ½ twist).
“I have worked pretty hard on these dives, and the outcome was pretty rewarding. It was cool to win and contribute to the team’s overall win,” Lawson said.
Dive practices are also subjective, and divers work on what they see fit, hoping to up their difficulty level (DD) while still saving time for hanging out with friends.
“I have been working on my reverse dive and twister, hoping to up my DD this season. I like joking around with my friends during practice and just having fun diving,” sophomore Abby Koenig said.
Swim and dive hopes to continue their hot streak at the next meet on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the Olney Indoor Swim Center at 7:15 p.m.
