The swim team hopes to bounce back this winter after falling short at districts during the 2018-2019 season.
Despite losing a strong senior class, the girls varsity team will have key returners and past state qualifiers junior Ally Grieshop and senior Leah Stamm, head coach Sandy Sliwowski said.
Senior captain Danner Rogers, sophomore Quinn Hall and freshman Nikolas Minkin will be the core swimmers for the boys varsity team, she added.
Both teams’ goals for this season include competing at districts and having some individuals qualify for the state meet, Sliwowski said. Though the teams’ hopes are high, girls senior captain Ilsa Evans said she knows the competition will be strong this year.
For the girls team, Evans anticipates Columbus School for Girls to be a strong opponent because many of their swimmers have qualified for states in the past.
Rogers expects the boys team’s hardest competition this year to be Columbus Academy because they have multiple strong returning swimmers. He also looks forward to the Ned Reeb meet at Ohio State where they will face tough competitors such as Saint Charles and Bishop Watterson.
Assistant coach Mitch Fries said all the swimmers on the team, especially the captains, have created a positivem team dynamic, which will hopefully result in breaking many personal and team record times during the course of the season.
“Their willingness to work hard themselves and push their teammates day in and day out pays off when they beat their personal records,” Fries said.
He added that diff erent swimmers have various expectations based on their level of experience, but all personal accomplishments are recognized, regardless of how that accomplishment compares to the other swimmers on the team.
Evans said she knows the time the team spent in the off -season preparing by swimming on club teams and conditioning will pay off . Regardless of the results of the team and individuals throughout the season, the team values work ethic the most, she said.
“You don’t have to go to states to be a good swimmer,” she added. “You can simply show up to everything and work hard, and you are just as valuable.”
Rogers emphasized the importance of mentoring the underclassmen because they are the future of the program.
“If I can share with them the diff erent skills I have picked up over the years from my teammates and coaches, I can help the younger swimmers make big strides of improvement,” Rogers said.
Rogers said he helps the younger kids on the team feel more comfortable by organizing team bonding events outside of swimming, such as dinners, study sessions and activities like bowling.
The team members enjoy spending time with each other both in and out of the sport, Rogers explained. He added that the team bonding will benefit them in achieving their goals this season because they will motivate one another to do better while in practice and in meets.
Sliwowski said she is already proud of the effort the team has put into this season.
“I’m really excited to show them all the hard work they have put in and how we can continue to build upon that toward the end of the season,” she said.
Junior swimmer Olivia Mitchell said that while the pre-season has been challenging, she expects it to pay off as the season advances.
“Once the meets start…we expect all the hard work we put in during this past off -season [will] be worth it,” Mitchell said.
Released December 2019. Digitized 2025.
