The swim season begins at Linsly on November 16. This year’s team is motivated to work hard and achieve great things.
This year’s captains are Abby Heilman and Jackson Kizmiknski. The team’s seniors this year are Abby Heilman, Audrey Bennett, Jackson Kizmiknski, and Max Hill. The team is led by Coach Cook and Coach Salatino.
Many valuable swimmers left last year. Thankfully, almost all the slots left were replaced by new freshmen. Coach Salatino thinks with time and training, the team will turn out great. “We are hoping for a big year, we return seven state qualifiers from a year ago,” said Coach Cook.
Conditioning before the season also ensures our athletes are prepared. “We did a lot of lifting and band work and it helped us with resistance training. It was going through the movements on dryland so we could do [them in the water],” said Max Hill. “Starts and diving off the blocks are my favorite parts of swimming,” said Max.
Everyone joins the swim team for a different reason. “My sister swam so it was a given I did,” said Abby. “My parents both swam and they met on the swim team,” said Audrey. “My parents had me swim,” said Max. “I was looking for a new sport and a new community and I decided to give swimming a try,” said Jackson. Mostly, it’s from other family members that swam before.
A great season starts with a great team. “I think that we work really well together. What I like about the team now is that we have a lot of young swimmers. I’m excited to see how we all are going to work out.” said Audrey Bennett. Individual goals also drive the team. “[My goals for this season are] to break a couple of school records and make it to states,” said Jackson.
“Our goal is to stay as healthy as possible and compete hard. As long as we stay the course and work hard, we have a chance to accomplish some great things this season,”
— Coach Cook
Some excellent swimmers left last year for college. However, Abby feels really good about the team this year. “After some practice, I feel we will be pretty good for states,” said Abby. “If we stay out of trouble, we can definitely have a good team,” added Jackson. “Our goal is to stay as healthy as possible and compete hard. As long as we stay the course and work hard, we have a chance to accomplish some great things this season,” said Coach Cook.
The first meet is on November 16. It will be held at Linsly to kickstart the season. Our first home meet will be on November 21 against John Marshall, Brooke & Robert C. Byrd. Good luck to our swimmers this year!
Upcoming Meets:
11/6 – At Linsly
11/18 – At the Bridge Invitational (Bridge Sport Complex)
11/21 – Vs. Brooke/Robert C. Byrd (John Marshall)
11/29 – Vs. Bridgeport/Union Local (St. Clairsville)
12/2 – At Rooenburg Invitational (Ohio University Aquatic Center)
