Going Out With a Splash
Eaglecrest Girls Swim & Dive is a TEAM, displaying remarkable spirit at last Saturday’s A-Leagues meet –the last meet before state.
Screams echo deafeningly amidst sounds of water splashing. The stands are packed, red and black and blue, green and yellow school colors blurring and clashing. The atmosphere at the girls’ swim and dive regional A-League meet on February 5th at Arapahoe High School was beyond intense — matched only by the meet’s gradually intensifying humidity levels.
And as the Eaglecrest varsity girls swim team competed in their second-to-last swim meet of the season — their state meet is on February 15th at the Veterans Memorial Aquatics Center — their secret weapon was clear: their team.
“No matter what race you swim you know that there will be at least three people screaming… even though we can’t really hear them,” said Katelyn Aasman, a junior graduating early. Aasman swam the 500 free — by accident. Aasman was accidentally placed in the 500 free in the B leagues meet (which is the qualifying meet preceding A leagues) and ended up making it to A leagues for the event. Not only did she make the meet, but she was able to drop time, a noteworthy feat.
She noted that one thing she loves about varsity level meets like A leagues is the energy — the excitement and pressure make the cheering that much more enthusiastic. And despite their relatively smaller numbers, the Eaglecrest team makes themselves heard.
“It’s a very supportive atmosphere,” said junior Manzi Venter. “People are genuinely happy for you when you do well. Things happen and people are gonna get upset about their times. But at the end of the day, the team comes first and everyone is more than willing to set aside any differences that may happen.” Venter, who swam the 200 free and 500 free, explains that the team really does not have drama.
In fact, their tight-knit team makes them feel more like a family. There was hardly a moment during the meet where half the team was not smiling, high-fiving, hugging, or otherwise congratulating and supporting one another.
“What makes swim and dive unique is we just have fun,” said Head Coach Jillian Fehringer. “We can get the job done at practices and meets all while simply having fun and a good time. This fun environment allows athletes to make relationships and friendships that last a lifetime.” Having that strong team bond is undoubtedly crucial to Eaglecrest girls swim and dive. And the balance between fun and work strengthens their friendships as much as it allows them to excel in the pool.
“Even though we’re an individual sport and it’s also a team sport, it makes it really hard because you’re kind of swimming against yourself and then your own teammates,” said senior Evelyn Gustin, who swam the 100 free and 200 free. “But I don’t ever feel like my teammates would be mad if I got a better time than them, and I’ve never felt that towards another teammate. We really do just love to see each other succeed. And that just makes it so much easier to want to be there and to want to help each other. You’re with them for so long that having that connection really helps.” Connection seems to be crucial to Eaglecrest girls swim and dive. Though they may not be state record-holders at the moment, their team atmosphere is unparalleled.
“Because we’re not that fast, we have such a better team environment than all the other teams. We have so much more energy and we’re much more willing to cheer for our girls,” said team captain and senior Hadley Phipps, who swam the 100 Breast, 200 Individual Medley, and the 200 Relay. She expressed that despite a long career in club swimming, her best experience with the sport has been on her high school team. And as a senior, this fact has truly hit home.
“It’s so bittersweet because now I’m sad that everything is over,” said Phipps. “It went by so fast that I can’t even process that this is never going to happen ever again….Every season, I’m like, ‘Wow, it’s already done?’ and I wish we had more time.” Aasman agrees, noting how short the season felt. After an odd Covid year with a season that felt far from normal, undoubtedly, this year’s season felt short –but sweet.
“For me, I was really excited because I was just an alternate in two of my events. But then I ended up actually scratching in, so I got to swim,” said Gustin. “And I’m super super happy. I didn’t get a great time, but I’m just glad I got that last meet and got the experience.” Gustin herself was able to reach times she did not even expect of herself, which was a heartening end to the season.
Unfortunately, the meet was not all smooth sailing. “Divers were complaining about the refs at this meet. And they didn’t tell us there wasn’t going to be a three minute break before the 200. So all three of us have to jump on the block, and Nalani had just been in a relay. It was just a little bit of a mess,” explained Venter. “But I’d say even despite things like that, it was pretty good.” Personally, Venter said she performed better in her events than she had expected, which redeemed the meet to an extent.
“I think our biggest challenge this season is being mentally tough. It is so easy for athletes to sink into that dark hole of not getting past a difficult swim. Athletes need to know they are “stronger than they know and tougher than they think”,” said Fehringer, quoting their team motto. Clearly, the hard work paid off and the motto came to fruition, as the team’s journey is not over at A-leagues.
With two relay teams going to the state meet, one could absolutely consider this season a success for the Eaglecrest team. “I feel like we have had an amazing season so far,” said Fehringer. “We had a total of 28 athletes participate in the A-league Championships Prelims. We had a total of 15 athletes participate in the A-league Championships Finals.” Fehringer hopes to build on this success in the following years, hoping to have more A-League individual qualifiers and more athletes competing at the state swim meet next year. Senior, team captain, and member of one state-bound relay team, Phipps likewise expressed pride in this year’s season and team.
“We made two state relays, which has been a goal since we didn’t make state last year,” said Phipps. “So personally, it’s been really good. I’m a little sad that I didn’t drop in my last individual race ever, but it was still really good and we had a lot of fun.” With a state meet to look forward to, their season is not over yet. But perhaps even more notable than two state-bound relays is the personal growth of each swimmer.
“My favorite part about coaching this team is watching the athletes grow in just one season. Whether that is simply completing a race a swimmer has never done or reaching a personal best in a time and so much more…I am so proud of all of the girls this season,” said Fehringer. “Every year the team comes with different personalities and experience which makes every year a fun, new, and memorable experience.”
Simone Beauchamp is a Senior at Eaglecrest and, as she will let you know, she graduated from Challenge Middle School. She has many talents - photography,...
