The girls swim and dive team season is officially over with the completion of GAC’s on Feb. 8. The team took many steps forward in their season with every girl on the team that competed dropping time. They used a technique known as tapering that has been used by teams all around the area. It helps the girls become less tired and more able to get their energy out in the pool during the meet.

“I don’t really think it worked well because we basically goofed around before GAC’s,” said sophomore Kaylee Sheridan.

Even though the team may have felt that this technique didn’t work, they dropped a good amount of time at GAC’s. All of the girls dropped at least two seconds or more on their individual times. the team had been expecting to finish at least in the the top three, but finished fifth overall.

“Even though we finished fifth place overall the girls were dropping time which is what we really like to see at GAC’s,” said coach Jessica Nettles.

The team pulled together though and had multiple finishes in top positions. They had thirteen individual swimmers place in the top 16 and three relays take sixth in their respective swims.

“I thought they did pretty good, the team swam its best and we dropped seconds,” said sophomore Luta Young.

With such a young team the girls hadn’t had much experience in a tournament as big as GAC’s the the coaches thought the girls did a very good job at competing and staying focused.

“Most of the girls had swam their best times of the seasons, with the adrenaline flowing it helped them out, and i think that some of the girls actually surprised themselves at how well they did,” said Nettles.

For the team it was a bittersweet ending to the season having it finally be over but looking ahead to improve on the this years record, and for some its preparing to go and swim at the state meet.

Senior Allison Strickler made it to the state meet for the 50m free and the 100m back. In both of these events she passed her best times of the year. In the 50 free she swam a 25.38 seconds and placed 20 out of 41 swimmers, missing the cut to go back to the finals for that race by less than two seconds. She swam the 100 back in a minute three seconds, and missed the cut by two seconds to make it back to the finals in that race.

“She did not place as well as she wanted to, but she had been sick earlier in the month and that might have factored in to it and she is a senior so all of the college and finishing high school could have affected her,” said Nettles.

Even with the disappointing finish in state Stickler will go on to swim for Truman University next year.