This swim season was one for the books.  A total of thirteen students joined the team, the largest it’s been for a few years.  Team members: seniors- Meghan Mullaly and Maria Fry; juniors– Hunter Hollingsworth, Connor Spanos, Madilyn Moore, Kalista Rodriguez, and John Moriarity; sophomore- Kylie Mullaly;  freshmen- Wren Dougherty, Annika Nilsson, Peter Spanos, Gavin Foote, and Lydia Jacoby.

            Connor Spanos and Lydia Jacoby both qualified for state.  Connor has been swimming since he was eight and admits he didn’t enjoy it at first. When he was 12, he said he was really slow, but once he started growing, his times started to improve.  His favorite stroke is the 100 yard butterfly. Connor is hoping to break the school record in this event. He won regions in this stroke, which qualified him for state. Connor is seated third right now, but is not far behind number two.  He wants to show up at the state meet and surprise people. He started the season with an injured back, so he said he “really had no expectations for this season.” His performance at regions caught him off guard.  He also qualified for the 200 yard freestyle, but is mostly focused on butterfly.

           Lydia Jacoby isn’t just your average freshman.  Early in the season, she was already breaking the school record in her best event, the 100 yard breaststroke.  During regions, she competed in the 100 yard breaststroke and 200 yard IM, taking first in both.  Not only did she win, but she broke the region record; it wasn’t even her fastest time! She said that “it was very unexpected” to win the IM, and all she was thinking about was how much it hurt. At the region meet, she was awarded swimmer of the year. Lydia’s goal for the state meet is to win the 200 IM and break the state record in the 100 breaststroke.

            We asked freshmen Wren Dougherty and Annika Nilsson about their season.  They both participated in club swim for years and then quit, but jumped back into swimming this year. Wren says that it is “really fun to swim again,” and Annika enjoys “swimming with a really good group of people.”  They both agree that practices are very challenging; Annika personally thinks they should do more games. Wren wants to continue participating because she “likes it, and likes being in water.” Annika thoroughly enjoyed the season, but wants “to try something new.”  They have lots of love for the team.

             There were two Seahawk seniors this year: Meghan Mullaly and Maria Fry.  It was Maria’s first year swimming, ever. She really enjoyed the season and her improvements were unreal.  Meghan, on the other hand, has been swimming for about the past 11 to 12 years. Sadly though, her senior season was interrupted because of a prior knee surgery.  Although she couldn’t compete, she was the assistant coach and team manager. She was there to take the splits and give advice to the the newer swimmers. Her favorite stroke is probably the 100 breaststroke, “but you can’t go wrong with the 50 free.”  

Gallery • 15 Photos

Wren and Annika on the blocks. Photographer: Sarah Spanos

UPDATE:

The state meet was a success! Both Connor and Lydia received medals in their events. Despite being under the weather, Connor’s 100 butterfly time was fast enough to seat him in finals, where he placed fourth overall. Lydia had two amazing races. Her first race was the 200 IM, and placed first.  Next, she swam in the 100 breaststroke. Not only did she win first, but also broke the state record. In recognition of her achievements, Lydia was awarded the female athlete of the year award. It was a good weekend for the Seahawk Swimmers!