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The Swim and Dive team left the state championship podium last weekend with nine placing finishes in the bag.

“I’m really proud of how my team did at state. Everyone had a really good season, we beat every team except Kirkwood,” senior Francesca Giganti said.

Of the qualifying swimmers, sophomores Caroline Bias, Irene Fredericks, Carolyn Kammeyer, and Kristen Petersen, as well as juniors Nicole Mauer and Chaney Skilling, and Giganti placed in their events. Highlights included third place for the 200-yard medley relay team, Giganti’s third place finish in the diving competition, and Kammeyer’s first place finish in the 100-yard butterfly.

“I wanted to go out with a bang and win the diving competition, but I’m content with where I placed. I was also excited to see members of my club diving team placing first second, third, fourth and sixth on the podium. I’m sad this is my last year,” Giganti said.

The 200-yard medley relay team included Bias, Petersen, Fredericks and Kammeyer. Placing third with a time of 1:49.75, the sophomore girls took the podium with pride.

“It was great to be on the podium, especially since State was so much more competitive. Being in the top three is always an accomplishment,” Petersen said.

Kammeyer set the school and a personal record in the 100-yard butterfly event with her time of 55.02. Her time was less than a second away from breaking the Missouri state record, 54.51, set in 2012 by Heather Lundstrom of Parkway North.

“I was motivated to win because I wanted to beat my rival, Maria Schroeder; she beat me last year. I really just wanted to be able to call myself an underclassman state champ,” Kammeyer said.

The swimming and diving team has big plans for future endeavors in the water. With the Winter Olympics in Sochi over, the swimmers are looking forward to Brazil for 2016.

“I’d really like to get to the Olympic trials, hopefully for 2016. That would definitely be an accomplishment,” Kammeyer said.