This upcoming year are the 2020 Olympic Games, and Mountain Range students can start educating themselves on one of the most popular sports: swimming. While many know swimming due to the Olympics, it’s often underrated at the high school level. Unless you are a swimmer, the odds of being knowledgeable about the sport are fairly low. The basic premise of swimming is that athletes use one of four techniques to swim as fast as they can. The fast paced competition is one that is constantly filled with excitement as swimmers kick the hardest they can to get to the wall.

Mountain Range’s girls swimming season will start back up in November, and with that, here’s what you can expect: a team full of dedicated girls who truly care about each other and their sport. When asked about how such an individual activity can feel like a team, head coach Mr. Johnson jokes, “No one suffers alone.” Practices such as the infamous “Turkey Burn” takes place the Saturday after Thanksgiving, where swimmers swim 50 rounds of 50 yards (two laps). It's a special experience where, despite the misery, everyone becomes better athletes than they were before. Between the daily two hour practices and the equally long meets, Johnson reflects on the “interesting comradery” amongst swimmers. The coach has an interesting perspective because he knows from experience. Mr. Johnson was a swimmer from eight years old until his sophomore year of college. He was once a high school athletes attempting to balance work and play. This creates an atmosphere of mutual respect. Both the athletes and the coach understand the dedication that swimming takes and adds to the team dynamic of a solo activity.

Being an individual sport, I took some time to interview some of the individuals who make up the team. Senior Anna Helfrich has been swimming for thirteen years. She is drawn back to swimming every year because of the great feeling she gets after practice. On top of that, Helfrich states, “Most of my best friends swim,” which doesn’t hinder the experience at all. If anything, the sport kindles friendships due to the team meeting after school everyday from November until February. While that is a long season, Maddie Gonzales is proof that if you put the time in, you will reap the rewards. Gonzales placed 14th in the 100 backstroke at the 5A state meet, “I put a lot of dedication into it even though it takes a lot out of me.” On top of doing high school swimming, she does club as well going from, quite literally, one practice to the next. She elaborates, “If you do want to see improvements it means you have to show up to every practice.” Many of her fellow swimmers participate in club swimming as well which shows the commitment of these athletes that are nothing short of astounding. In order to be a swimmer you have to be devoted.

Swimming is an unfairly overlooked sport. There is never a dull moment whether it’s at practices or meets, and as the season begins, students can watch as these athletes race against the clock. So come watch your fellow Mustangs improve their time as you experience the thrill of competitive swimming.

Swim meets usually take place at VMAC (5310 E. 136th Ave Thornton, CO 80241).