Imagine a giant pit of big cats fighting each other in a wild brawl, except now, imagine that there are no real big cats at all, and it’s actually just our Lady Lions Swim & Dive team dominating the pool! Over the course of Friday and Saturday this weekend, the Big Cat Brawl meet was held here at LHS. It is safe to say that the meet was a smashing success!
“We did really well. We got 2nd place, which was exciting. And it was a big invitational meet, I’m pretty sure there were 13 teams, so getting second was awesome,” said Senior Keagon Boyd with a smile.
Besides getting 2nd overall, the Lions had several other huge victories. The 200 Medley Relay of Juniors CC Smith, Corrina Gapter, Sarah Henderson, and Freshman Tabitha Miscall got 1st, and the 200 Freestyle Relay of Boyd, Henderson, Senior Johanna Shepela, and Freshman Evelyn Wambold got 2nd.
“Our 400 free relay at the very end of the meet went really well. We got 2nd place on that relay, and the other team [who got 1st] set a record,” said Senior Charlotte Mantel. The relay consisted of Sophomore Lexi Myrtle, Shepela, Miscall, and Gapter, who all had outstanding performances!
In fact, nearly every athlete performed exceptionally well. “I think it went really well for the team… everyone either dropped time or maintained good times,” said Mantel. The meet was personal record galore!
On an individual level, Shepela got 1st in the 100 Freestyle and 2nd in the 200 Freestyle. Miscall got 3rd in both her 200 IM (Individual Medley) and 500 Freestyle. Wambold achieved 3rd in the 100 Breastroke, Smith got 3rd in the 100 Backstroke, and Gapter got 2nd in the 100 Butterfly. Henderson won both of her B finals in the 50 Freestyle and 100 Breastroke, and there were several other finalists, including Sophomore Lara Leonard, Sophomore Olivia Grinfeld, and Mantel. There was also a remarkable number of State qualifiers, considering how early in the season Big Cat is, which included Shepela, Miscall, Wambold, Gapter, and Smith.
This was a big meet for Henderson in particular. “I got my best times in every event that I swam, and made finals and placed, which was pretty cool,” she said. Not only that, but she also got to select a walkout song! How cool is that?
And on the diving side, Senior Maddie Roth got 5th in 6 dives.
All of the girls’ work is clearly paying off. Not only have they been working extremely hard physically, but there has also been a new focus on mental health in the team. “Of course it’s early on, but this year we’re doing a lot of new work with our mental performance. Every Monday and Wednesday we’ll do a team meeting,” said Boyd. During Mindful Mondays and What’s Up Wednesdays, the team talks about mental health, stress, and goal setting.
“Everything’s going well with the whole environment of the team, and I think we have some really good and competitive swimmers this year,” Mantel said.
As a whole, the team is heading in a great direction. “I think we’re on a good track so far, really positive, especially with hitting really fast times this early in the season,” said Boyd.
“Our future is really bright. I think we have the chance of having a really big State team this year, probably the largest we’ve had in a while, which is super exciting,” said Henderson. “We might be able to place a little bit higher at State, and hopefully win League for the second year.”
Congratulations to the Lady Lions on another successful victory, we are looking forward to the future!
