By SARA CASLER
As senior Annie Hendrix steps up to the diving block, she experiences the all too familiar rush of an intense heat.
“It’s so exhilarating. Your heart’s pounding and you’re nervous, but once you hear that buzzer, everything goes out of your mind. All you think about is swimming,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix is a four-year swimmer on varsity and a team captain. She is also one of the best swimmers the team currently has, with one of the fastest times on the 200 meter individual medley at 2:43:41. She is a member of the first string 200 medley relay and completed the relay in 2:07:07 during the swim meet against Olympia.
The swim team is being challenged by a new opponent. It is not another school or another league. It is a lack of experience between the lane lines. In May, strong swimmers such as Taylor Reeves and Mark Hendrix graduated.
Rosalie Creighton, an Anatomy and Physiology teacher, is the head coach for swimming and water polo and has been coaching on and off for the past 23 years. She plans on taking her team to the highest levels they can reach with the swimmers that are on the team this year.
Although swimming is a sport where everyone participates and contributes, no matter how inexperienced, the team has a track record for winning. For example, the team made it all the way to the Regional swim meet last year. Also, the girls are starting out their season with a 4-1 record, with finishes in the top three of their events by Hendrix and team captain, senior Thompson Wood. Wood finished first in the 100 meter breaststroke with a time of 1:16:47 and took second in the 200 freestyle with a 2:07:24 time at the Olympia meet, which they lost with a score of 73-105.
The boys’ team is off to a good start with an 3-2 record, with outstanding times from Sean Ellixson, who took first in both the 200 meter individual medley with a time of 2:18:93 and the 400 meter freestyle with a time of 5:33:01. Team captain, senior Nicholas White’s 200 meter medley relay team took second with a 1:57:47 time at the swim meet against Bishop Moore, which they lost with a score of 66 to 104.
Javi Fernandez, junior, also leads the team with the top times in the 100 backstroke (1:06) and the 100 butterfly (1:03).
“[All I think about is] be the best, be the fastest and don’t let anyone have the possibility of beating me,” Fernandez said.
But, in order to make it all the way to regionals or even beyond, swimmers are encouraged to practice year round to fine-tune their skills, techniques and speed, according to Creighton.
“This year, we don’t have many superstars, so I’ll take who I can get and coach those kids. All of my seniors graduated, and I don’t have anyone who swims year-round. It’s going to be a challenge to compete at a very high level,” Creighton said.
Even if the team is not going to compete at the national level right off the diving block, Creighton says, they do have something that gives them an edge: a team full of students who are participating because they want to. The swim team is like a big family. They all work together, they all succeed together, they all laugh at each other’s mistakes and they all care.
“Swimming is like my life,” sophomore Nichole Clayton said.
It’s because of kids like this who care that Creighton believes both teams can, and will go far.
“They’re all excited to swim and be on the team, and that’s exciting for me because it’s fun to coach those kids,” Creighton said.