story by Cassie Florido, photo courtesy of Kelly Gardella
The STA swim team finished 22nd overall in the Missouri State Swim competition in St. Louis Feb. 15-16. The team also set three new school records at the meet.
Going into the preliminary races on the first day of competition, the team had three relay teams and four individual swimmers.
The Stars had relay teams qualify for the 200 medley, 200 freestyle and 400 freestyle. Individual qualifiers included seniors Jane Evans and Rosie Hutchison, junior Katie Hornbeck and sophomore Haley Baldwin.
In order to qualify for the final races on the second day of competition, the swimmers had to place in the top 16. The top eight swimmers then competed in the final, while places 9-16 competed in a consolation heat. The top eight swimmers and relay teams all earned medals on the second day. However, all of the top 16 still earned points for the overall team score.
According to head coach Andrew Wilcox, the team broke three school records in the preliminary races. On the second day of the meet, two of the records were broken again.
“It is a testament to the effort that these young ladies put into their training all season long,” Wilcox said about the broken records.
On the first day of competition, the 400 freestyle relay team set a school record with a time of 3:41.54, finishing ninth overall. As the relay team swam in the consolation heat on the second day, the team broke their previous record with a new time of 3:41.12. The team finished 11th overall in the competition.
Baldwin also broke a school record in the 200 IM prelim with a time of 2:18.28. Baldwin finished 31st in the preliminary race.
Baldwin says that she was surprised when she found out she broke a school record.
“I thought that it was a mistake,” Baldwin said. “But when I realized it wasn’t, I felt like all my hard work payed off.”
Hutchison was the only individual swimmer to earn a chance to swim on the second day of the competition.
In the 200 Freestyle, Hutchison finished fifth in the prelims with a time of 1:55.10. This time broke the school record Hutchison set last year. In the finals, Hutchison finished fifth overall with a time of 1:55.53.
“I felt very accomplished because I wasn’t sure I could swim as fast as I did last year,” Hutchison said about breaking her own record. “It was a relief to see that time up on the scoreboard.”
Hutchison also finished eighth in her prelim swim of the 100 freestyle with a time of 53:36. In the finals, she finished seventh overall with a time of 53:31.
The team finished the meet tied 22nd overall and earned a total of 46 team points.
Wilcox said the main lesson the team took away from this season is that the swim and dive program is truly a team sport.
“The coaching staff has watched these ladies build a swim and dive program and make it one of the best in the state,” Wilcox said. “The excitement they had for each other all season long was brought to its zenith at the State meet.”
Wilcox said that even after State the girls continued to spend time together by having a sleepover at one of the girl’s house.
“They have taken sisterhood to a new level,” Wilcox said.
