Photo by Isabella Miller

During a dual meet against Archbishop Murphy High School, divers Caitlyn Smith and Addy Clarke get ready for Event 5, Diving.

Defending their Westco North undefeated title, Girls Swim & Dive competed against Cascade High School on Oct. 19th and with that victory came the news of a 30th win in a row, leading the team to be undefeated for a third season. Swimmers and divers alike celebrated with cheers and the news was heard from Head Coach John Neff. Coach Neff joined the program in 2018 before the teams split off and would eventually go on to accept the job of Head Coach with Assistant Coach Brandon Ringstad and Dive Coach Marc Hughes. All three coaches have been working together since 2018 and managed to win the NW District 1 championship in 2021 and get second place during the 2022 District championship. “It has been a joy and continuous blessing to be around such an amazing group of humans. I firmly believe Dive Coach Marc Hughes and Assistant Swim Coach Brandon Ringstad to be one of the best coaching staffs in the state as they lead their respective groups to success year after year. It may be cliché, but I am truly blessed to lead such a team dynamic,” Neff said.

Success isn’t built off of two people, it takes a team. With a team of about 40 girls, many of them have had successes this year. For some, it was about getting new personal bests, for others it was about joining to be apart of a team. Even with the successful seasons in the past, each new season is an opportunity to build a better environment than the year before. “The team culture is a great environment. I was new to swimming this year, so the first time I got in the water I was very nervous but everyone was so encouraging and constantly cheered even if I wasn’t doing the best, which was very helpful,” Junior swimmer Kennedy Brewer said.

While having incredible depth in the swim team, that depth also extends to the dive team. With five divers qualifying for districts this year and many divers gaining new personal records as well as creating a team culture like no others. The week before the Last Chance Invite, some divers got together to create their very own divers spirit week which includes days such as ‘white lies t-shirts”, “dress as a swimmer day”, and “anything but a water bottle day”. “It was really fun to do a team activity for the divers on our last week together,” diver Claire Butler said.

Of course victory doesn’t come without the stress of a possible loss. During the dual meet against Kamiak, the win came down to the very last 400 Freestyle relay. Needing to place first and third in order to not have the meet called as a tie, the pressure was on. “It was really stressful because it was a really close meet. We were all trying our hardest and we were really tired but I was trying my best,” swimmer Megan Maley said.

With the dual meet season being over and Last Chance Invite, Districts, and State coming their way for the team, many swimmers and divers are prepping for these bigger competitions. Last Chance Invite is going to be at the Snohomish Aquatic Center on Oct. 26, District Prelims and Finals will also be hosted at the Snohomish Aquatic Center with Diving Prelims on Nov. 1, Swim Prelims on Nov. 2, and both Diving and Swim Finals will take place on Nov. 4.