Standing on the highest podium amongst crowds of people cheering for their victory, junior Vladimir Ivanov and the boys 200-yard freestyle relay team relish their hard-fought victory in the state swimming competition on Saturday, Feb. 17.

Overall, the Timberwolves did well in their final swim competition of the year with two teams placing in the top three, the boys 200-yard freestyle relay placing first and the boys 400-yard freestyle relay team taking second. Leading up to their state appearance, both the girls and guys swim teams won first place in the district and regional competitions. These wins bought them both a slot in the state competition, where they both finished in the top 10.

The swimmers competed in various competitions on Saturday and had several top 10 finishes in different races. The girls 200 yard freestyle relay team placed sixth, senior Lauren Partridge took a fifth place finish in the girls 100 yard breaststroke race and  junior Dominic Toledo Sanchez placed fourth in the boys 100 yard freestyle race. At the end of the competitions, the girls ended up taking eighth place and the boys took sixth place overall.

“I think a lot of kids were happy and pleased with the year on how they did,”  head swim coach David Partenheimer said. “And then on top of that how the team did overall.”

Practicing every morning in preparation for the boys 200 yard freestyle relay race, Ivanov said he had been working vigorously in the weeks prior to the state meet to show up and win. On the first competition day, he and his team raced in the 200 yard relay, making the final cut and sending them on to state. Despite this achievement, Ivanov said that they were not initially proud of their performance.

“The first day we all added time and went slower, however we still made finals and the second day of state we were seated third,” Ivanov said. “But we really redeemed ourselves and took the gold home for Cedar Park. I was relieved because after our first day swim, many people doubted we would win.”

Throughout the year both the boys and girls teams have had a lot of success and have both won a majority of their meets this season. Ivanov explained how he felt the team did at state and how far they had come as a group since the beginning of the year.

“The team had its ups and downs,” Ivanov said. “The pressure is huge on the swimmers knowing that there are hundreds of people watching you. However, we all successfully tried to not mess up, and most people did not under that pressure. Overall, everybody had fun and especially the seniors since it was their last high school swim competition.”