On Nov. 14th and 15th, the Olympia High School girls swim team swam to a 19th-place team finish at the state meet, taking home two individual medals.
On the first day of the girls’ state swim competition, the Bears started the meet with the 200-yard Medley relay prelims. This race is a relay in which each swimmer swims 50-yard legs, with the first swimming backstroke, the second breaststroke, the third butterfly, and the fourth freestyle. For the state meet, the first day is preliminary races in which swimmers race to qualify for a chance to race again in the finals the following day. In this prelim, the relay team placed tenth to advance to the finals.
The Bears’ next event was the 50-yard freestyle prelims with senior Nicole Gertseva and freshman Aila Swanson. Here, Gertseva tied for eighth and advanced to the finals. Gertseva had to then double back immediately to race the 100-yard butterfly, where she moved on to the finals in sixth place. Cambria McDaniel also competed in the 100-yard backstroke, placing 21st. For the final preliminary race, the 400-yard freestyle relay team placed 13th.
The second day of state included the finals for all events. The Bears’ first event was the 200-yard medley relay, where the team placed second in their final and tenth overall. Based on their placing, they scored 14 team points. Team placings at the end of the meet are determined by adding how many points were scored in each event, making this performance incredibly valuable for team placing. Next, Gertseva added 11 points to this by placing eighth in the 50-yard freestyle and then another 13 with a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.
Gertseva says that, for the 100-yard butterfly school record, “I was like less than a second off . . . But the pool, the pool really got me.” At the state meet, the pool heaters were not working properly, so the pools were uncharacteristically cold. For swimming, particularly sprint events, it is critical to have a warm pool to keep the muscles warm. Regardless, Gertseva came home with two state medals to close out her final season as a Bear.
Gertseva explains that she prefers the short sprinting events because they are more competitive. Moreover, Getseva emphasises how much quicker the sprint events are. “Why would you want to work harder for longer when you can swim maybe 25, 24 seconds instead of five minutes?”
Conversely, Normandy Riley Carter prefers the longer events. “For the 100 free and 50 free, I feel like it’s a lot of luck . . . But if you look at the 500, I also get a chance to warm up, and I have time to get in my zone,” she said. At the state meet, Riley Carter was an alternate for the 4×100 relay. Despite the 4×100 relay being the very last of the day, she and the other alternates had been preparing and warming up from six in the morning. She made sure to maximise the opportunity regardless, treating the meet as a practice and getting in some laps. “If I’m up here in my suit and I’m just waiting around, I might as well swim,” said Riley Carter.
For the final race of the day, a team of Nastasia Moniodis, McDaniel, Campbell Patterson, and Gertseva scored six points with a 14th-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Overall, the swim team finished in 19th place in Washington with a total score of 44 points.
For the seniors, McDaniel and Gertseva, this was their last-ever swim meet. “It was like a bittersweet kind of thing, because it’s like my last swim meet ever,” McDaniel said. For the juniors, their opportunities continue next fall as they target another strong season and a return to the state meet.