On Nov. 15 and 16, 14 members of the North girls swim and dive team competed at state. North won third overall, placing in the top three for many events as well as breaking the state record in the 400 free relay. Seniors Isabelle Beu, Avery Luedke and Maya Townsend were among those who placed, as were juniors Kate Farrell and Tess Stavropoulos and freshman Hayden Kruse.
North was very successful during the meet. Townsend placed first in three of her events. Beu became state champion in the 200 individual medley and the 100 butterfly, Luedke won first in the 500 free and second in the 200 free and Farrell placed second in the 200 individual medley and third in the 500 free. Beu, Kruse, Luedke and Stavropoulos also got third place in the 200 free relay.
North made a major accomplishment at the meet when the te
am broke the state record for the 400 free relay. Stavropoulos, Luedke, Farrell and Beu completed the race, beating the previous record by over three seconds and scoring first in the event.
Going to state was an incredible and unique experience for the entire team. The girls did many things to prepare for this big event such as taper, which involves taking extra time to rest before the competition. The length of rest varies depending on the swimmer.
“Mine was only three days, but some people do two weeks,” said Luedke. “You just don’t do as many yards as you usually do so that your muscles are resting.”
Swim and dive coach Robert Rooney also put a lot of effort into preparing the girls for the competition, starting to train right after the previous state meet.
“It’s a mental thing,” said Rooney. “It’s about setting the agenda now for the future and working on finding the right pieces to your lineup to make them have the most opportune time for them to be successful.”
Rooney gave the girls lots of advice and encouragement, telling them to compete because they enjoy swimming and to have fun even when things do not go perfectly.
“[When] everything completely goes the opposite way you want it [to], it kind of brings you down,” said Townsend. “Coach Rooney said [to] keep a positive mindset, which really helped me think, okay, this is a small setback. And yes, it happened more than once, but hey, we all have those days.”
Rooney was very proud of North’s performance at the competition.
“It was a very competitive meet, and it’s something that, when I look at it from a lens after the meet, I’m very proud of what we did and how we swam,” Rooney said. “We broke a state record in the 400 free relay, four girls [achieved] state championships, [and there were] young lady athletes with disabilities that won state championships. There [were] a lot of really awesome experiences for the girls.”
The swim coach was also proud of the team’s commitment and dedication.
“They’re a very driven group of girls who take pride in what they do,” said Rooney.
Girls on the team were happy with their performance, as well. As their final high school competition before they go off to college, this swim meet was especially important for senior athletes. Luedke, who is committed to swimming at the University of Tennessee next year, was satisfied with how the team did.
“I was happy with how I swam and I think as a team we did the best that we could,” said Luedke. “I think we left it all out there.”
