Swimming

Not even COVID-19 can stop the swim team from diving into a great season. Even though the swimmers weren’t able to get back to practice till Sept. 8,  senior John Powers is impressed with how practices are still challenging but also following the safety guidelines.

“I think it’s going really well given the circumstances. I think coach Josh has done an impressive job keeping practices alive and interesting,” Powers said.  “He’s done a lot to make practice fun and somehow make it tougher than last year.”

However, because of COVID and the late practice start, many swimmers were out of shape, as swimming, according to sophomore Chloe Wilkins, is arguably one of the toughest sports to get back into. Wilkins feels that this has made the season more challenging.

“It’s kind of hard to get back into the routine of the season after six months off,” Wilkins said. “For me, it has made getting to regionals more challenging and has taken away our travel meets. We are also now having more emphasis on our strengthening.”

Because of the pandemic, several of the big swim meets got canceled, however, the team now gets to attend more meets than in past years. But even though swimmers are able to social distance both in and out of the pool, they still miss out on certain team traditions.

“Some positives are that we are having a lot more meets it seems like and that we get to have a season,” Wilkins said. “Some negatives are missing out the really fun parts of the season like team traditions, pasta parties and travel meets.”

As the season continues, both Powers and Wilkins are looking forward to pushing themselves and working hard to be the best that they can be.

“I am looking forward to seeing what we are able to accomplish as a team against our opponents,” Wilkins said. “[I am] also [looking forward to]  the new challenges that we will get to face and overcome together as we move through the season in this unprecedented year.”