Although it is only four weeks into the season, there have already been wins for the Parkway Central girls swim and dive team. 

Senior and team captain Sophia Lundry has been swimming every season throughout high school and has already made memories

with her teammates, and plans to bring the team closer.

“Throughout all my past high school years, I always looked up to the upperclassmen, and I want to be a role model for all the younger grades,” Lundry said. “As captain this year I have planned many activities to get the team closer such as ‘secret swimmer’ which is similar to secret Santa and also team breakfasts.” 

Junior Reese Anderson swims competitively in and out of high school, and has many goals for upcoming years. 

“My goal for this season is to drop a lot of time, especially in butterfly, break the school record and win state,” Anderson said. 

“I’ve been preparing for the off season by swimming club at CSP, which is my main priority over high school swim, but mainly just to improve overall,” Anderson said. As she is used to competing, swimming can impact your daily life significantly. 

“When I first started swimming, morning practices were very tough and impacted my performance in and out of school. As you become more consistent it gets a lot easier and you get used to it. I felt swimming got easier in general and noticed a significant change in my speed and technique,” Anderson said. 

As some may balance activities and education, sophomore Kenadie Johnson juggles a variety of sports during the winter sport season. 

“Swimming takes up a lot of my time. Mondays, I have to skip to make it to my orchestra practice. Last year I did basketball and swim during the same season, but that was difficult so this year I’m sticking to just swim, along with Step Team,” said Johnson.

Varsity girls swim coach Stephanie Seidel has enjoyed swimming from a young age. As she is a math teacher and mother of two, she gives devotion and has many plans for the girls to improve this season, as competition becomes tougher each year.

“This year we are working more on technique, a lot of yards and distance and also sprints,” Seidel said. “I want to make sure the girls are ready for this new season, especially new people who are joining this year. Everyday of the week there is a different focus of what I want the girls to work on.” 

Freshman Gianna Pierson is just getting used to this routine. 

“When I swam at Parkway Swim Club, there were a lot more breaks and people from different schools. At high school swimming there aren’t as many rests and there’s a lot more pressure, like during meets,” Pierson said. “But I do think it’s fun to swim with my school friends and get ready together after morning practices.” 

The swim team is filled with morale and confidence as they continue to train for their next meet on January 28, a home meet against Rockwood Summit, and goals to make it to top 5 at state again this season.