Walkersville Finishes Last Home Meet at County Championships
by Maddie Hommey
The Lions Swim team competed in the Frederick county swimming championship on Saturday, February 11th at WHS.
The meet lasted almost all day with the Lions starting at 7:30 AM for warm ups. They and every other team in the county then piled into their designated team spots in the commons area with blankets covering the room. Swimmers came and went from this area when they were not racing. While waiting between their events, some played cards, ate snacks, or slept. It was quite the scene and a busy place. “It’s like a giant slumber party with all the schools” senior Gracie Armogida claimed.
Furthermore, in the commons area a projector was playing a live video feed of the pool at any given moment. Kennedy Conley is a fourth grader at Glade elementary and the daughter of Lions Swim Coach, Kevin Conley. She as well as many of her friends were announcing each event so that swimmers knew when they needed to be ready to go. “I’m having fun because I get to call the events with the microphone” Conley said. She added that the meet was “going slow, but good.”
Others also felt the length of the swim meet draining them. “It’s very long, but it’s a good bonding experience with my teammates” stated Freshman Evan Pinetti. “We’re all working very hard and have been working towards this for a long time” Pinetti continued. Pinetti is one of many freshman swimmers that show tremendous potential to win championships in the next few years.
On the opposite side, many seniors are rapidly approaching the end of their swim career. This county championship was their final meet at Walkersville High School. Armogida said, “it’s bittersweet, but I’m excited to see where this team goes in the next few years; I think they’ll bring home the county championship.”
Senior Claire Owen agreed that “it’s sad that next year we won’t be swimming with the same people because I think the team will be better next year.”
Others, like Senior Jack Chavez will also miss the entire experience as “it’s a very familiar pool, so it feels comfortable.” It is for these many reasons that the Lions’ seniors and entire team are “giving it their all” as Chavez stated.
For many, this meant they dropped time from previous races. One of the biggest of these time drops is junior Mikaela Miller who dropped 13 seconds in her 500 free. Emily Terpening was also successful in this event by finishing in second. Owen is another who, “feel(s) good about today. I dropped a lot of times and got a 1:10.0 in the 100 free and first in my heat.”
Pinetti looked for improvement throughout the season and the day as well stating that “I didn’t do as well as I could’ve in my first event, but am hoping to improve in my second.”
The attitudes of these individuals are the reason the Lions will excel in the years to come and the attitudes of these seniors are the reason they’ve had such a good four years swimming at WHS and are finishing off strong.
Along with all the great personal times and Lions’ placing, the boys team placed fourth overall and the girls finished in third overall.
The Lions will compete at regionals on Monday, February 20th at Fairland Aquatic Center.
