Over 50 swim and dive teams met at the St. Peters Rec-Plex recreational and fitness facility on Feb. 19 and 20 to compete in multiple events for state.
Eight swimmers and two divers competed from West High. Overall, the team placed fourth.
“I’m a very competitive person, so state is really fun for me. There’s so much more competition and fans,” senior Grace Miller said.
Miller swam the 200 IM and placed 32nd, the 100 fly and the 200 free relay. Her relay with senior Lindsey Stucki, sophomores Sarah Bonnett and Jessica Schlueter placed 30th.
“It’s so much more nerve-racking swimming at state because it’s a bigger meet and if you swim at state you have to qualify,” Miller said. “It means a lot more to get a state title than just a win.”
Senior diver Megan Hitchcock placed fourth of 57 participants.
“Making it to state was exciting, but I also made it as a sophomore and junior. Last time, my hand was broken so I felt like I was limited, but this time I didn’t have anything holding me back,” Hitchcock said.
Senior Gabriela Vieira placed first in the 100 fly and the 100 back.
“The best part was that the whole team was there to cheer us all on,” Vieira said. “They were all super supportive. It was more fun to have a big team competing.”
Vieira also won Swimmer of the Year, an award given to the swimmer with the most accomplishments in the meet in their individual races.
“It was a new experience for me swimming at state. I’ve swam club since I was six but this is my first year swimming for a school, so I’d never gone to state before,” Vieira said.
On Saturday, the team’s state competitors and alternates went to junior Grace Folkin’s lake house in Innsbrook for a sleepover.
“We played Apples to Apples, ate a lot of food, watched movies; some girls even told ghost stories. It was a fun way to end the season,” Vieira said.
Seventeen girls on the team attended the meet both days including the seven alternate swimmers.
“We were all there cheering each other on, and since it’s my last year it made everything more fun and bittersweet. We all cried at some point,” senior Irene Frederick said.
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