Of the swim and dive team, all four divers and eleven swimmers were selected to compete at state. The team headed up to the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center in Thornton, Colorado and left late Friday night. 

Nine swimmers and all four of the divers competed in preliminary rounds Thursday night. Five swimmers and three divers made it back for finals Friday night. The divers were Dahlia Allen 10, Emily Cook 12, and Megan DuMond 12. The swimmers were Madeline Bane 12, Katie McClelland 11, Sydney McKenzie 10, Abby Nelson 11, Hannah Day 12, and Megan Perry 10.

“State is tough,” Coach Jackie Cromer said before the meet. “With such a small team that we have, we will probably only take about eight swimmers and four divers to state.”

Leaders on the team reflected on what it takes to be successful at a state competition. In order to be prepared, the team missed school on Friday and stayed in a hotel Thursday night. The swimmers and one diver stayed in a hotel for the night, eliminating the back and forth commute to Thorton, and missing school on Friday.

“I thought everyone really stepped up at state,” Madeline Bane 12 said. “What makes a state team great is the attitudes in and out of the water and going into the meet we all just decided to have fun and give it our all. So that’s exactly what we did.”

On the day of finals, the girls warmed up at 3:30 pm and ended around 8:00 pm. Two divers placed in the top 10; Allen came in fifth and DuMond in fourth. Many of the swimmers placed in the top ten including the 200 Medley relay (McKenzie, McClelland, Bane, Day), which came in seventh. McClelland’s 200 IM came in eighth, and her 100 m breaststroke came in sixth. 

“Our hard work paid off, everyone did so well,” Bane said. “I feel that my meet went incredibly well, as I had the best times in all my events and I got to walk with my relay team to the podium.”

State brings the season to a close, seeing as it is the last meet. Swimmers spend their whole season preparing for state. When it ends all that’s left is a banquet and the next season ahead.

“Overall,” Bane said. “It was the best experience and I’m so proud of my team.”