Swim Team: Diving Their Way Into the Season

 Swim team kicked off the new season on Nov 12, 2018, bringing many new swimmers to the team. “Including boys and girls, there is a total of 45 members this year,” swim coach Sean Taylor said.  

 Like all sports’ seasons, there are obstacles that need to be overcome. “We have a lot of newer swimmers on the team which is a really good thing but early in the season it’s hard as they are just getting used to it,” senior varsity swimmer Ryan Burch said.

 The swim team practices every day after school for two hours. Every year the swim team has qualifiers go off to state to compete. “We had quite a few kids make state last year,” sophomore varsity swimmer Max Edwards said.

 The swimmers on the team enjoy what they do and love the bond they have created with their teammates. “I’m looking forward to the fun of it all, swim team is such a blast,” Burch said.

 For the team, competitions mean everything. The team focuses all of their energy on swimming the best they can while competing against other high schools.   On Nov 29, 2018, their first meet brought Hood River Valley to GHS and sent them home with a loss. In the girls 200-yard relay sophomore Maria Fesik as well as Caitlin Peetz, McKenna Gustafson and Abby McDevitt placed 3rd. During the 2nd event, senior Ryan Burch,  sophomores Mason White, and Nathaniel Wilson, as well as junior Sean Baisden, placed 2nd in the boys 200-yard relay. Fesik placed 2nd in the girls 1o0-yard backstroke and Burch placed 1st in the boys 200-yard freestyle.

 The swim team also competes in league meets throughout the season. On Dec 6, 2018, the team swam against Barlow and sadly did not come back with a win. In the team rankings, the girls placed 2nd with 40 points and the boys placed 2nd with 64 points.

 Maria Fesik, a sophomore, varsity swimmer and JV coach said the team is ready for more competition this season and is looking forward to a good year. “My team has lost players this year but they are also more enthusiastic which is good,” Feik said. “They have improved in technique and almost always win the relay.”