The junior high swim team participated in their Eastern Conference Championships (ECCs) on Jan. 24 and placed fourth overall. The swimmers performed well, with some scoring in the top three.
Marcella Minnillo, ‘30, swims for her summer swim team and has swam for WHHS for one year prior.
“I swim freestyle and breast stroke, but then I started doing butterfly towards the end of the season,” Minnillo said.
Many swimmers agree that swim meets can be long and tiresome, but their friends and teammates make it worthwhile.
“We all come and do warm-ups and then set everything up,” Minnillo said. “Then we go through all of the events and you cheer for your friends.”
The key to a good swim team is the dynamic. Teammates need to be able to cheer for one another and pick each other up after a bad race.
“It motivates you to swim better in a way, because your teammates are cheering you on, and it just overall helps,” Sylvie Dean, ‘30, said.
The swimming community is uplifting, which leads to higher results. It is special compared to other experiences.
“I love the spirit, and we all get to cheer for each other,” Minnillo said. “It’s different from summer swimming because I have a lot more friends and it’s just a lot more fun.”
Multiple swimmers, including Minnillo and Dean, placed higher than expected.
“I placed third in my heat in freestyle,” Minnillo said. “I was surprised when I saw the butterfly [since] I dropped a couple seconds too, so I was proud of that.”
Coaches are one of the most important parts of a team. They can make or break it, but in this case, coach and teacher at WHHS, Hannah Greulich, helped the team swim to victory.
“My coach, Hannah, put in a lot of effort into it and helped all of us improve,” Dean said.
One of the best parts of any sport is making friends on your team and supporting one another.
“They cheer you on, and [you] talk to them in between races,” Dean said. “My friends would motivate me, and they would say that I’m doing great.”