Members of girls swim team qualify for state in first meet of season
Girls swim team places fourth overall at swim meet, shows progress
Four members of the girls swim team qualified for state in its first meet, in which in the team placed fourth overall, at Shawnee Mission North on Wednesday, March 26. The two events that have state-qualifying times are the 400 freestyle relay team of sophomore Sherry McLeod and freshmen Vicki Robinson, Alexis Medina and Claudia Meredith and McLeod’s 100 backstroke.
McLeod said the team exceeded expectations in this first meet.
“I think we did exceptionally well for how many new swimmers we have and for our second year,” McLeod said. “We qualified for state the first meet out … [that’s] not common. Last year, it took the team the whole season to qualify.”
McLeod said that qualifying for state early in the season is a step in the right direction for the relatively new team.
“I think it says that we have a lot more potential this year, for making finals and getting points for the team,” McLeod said. “I think by doing this, people will realize that Mill Valley is a real swim team. A lot of people forget about us but we want to be known; we’re a new team with a lot of potential.”
Head coach Amy Hanna said the team has shown great improvement from last season.
“Last year we were learning how to swim and this year we are learning how to win,” Hanna said via email. “We had several swimmers who went to a swim camp over the summer out of state and have come back and swam faster in their first meet than they did all last year.”
Hanna is looking forward to continuing to see the progress of the team.
“It’s going to be a great season watching these girls really compete for some state times,” Hanna said. “We’re just in our second year, and it’s amazing how much we have already grown from our first year.”
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