A Report on the Girls AAA Swimming Championships

This November, the Lakeside Girls Swim and Dive Team went to the 3A state championship meet. This meet included some of the fastest competition in the state, such as Mercer Island, Bellevue, and Bainbridge Island. Going up against this fierce field, Lakeside did spectacularly, especially considering our smaller student body. While a school such as Bellevue High has more than 1,500 students, Lakeside only has a few hundred. Lakeside sent nine girls to the championships: Ella J., Sadie D., Michelle Y., Noli H., Brisa G., Caroline C., Chloe L., Stella D., and Julia B.. 

According to head coach Matt Miller, the meet was the fastest Lakeside has had for a while. Many records were broken, including the 100 butterfly, in an amazing swim by Ella J. She swam a 52.05, smashing the 3A record by 0.7 seconds, and breaking the state record by half a second. Not only did she win the 100 fly, she got first place in the 100 backstroke as well.

Lakeside wasn’t carried by one person, though. Every competitor we sent did well. All nine swimmers made it to finals in at least one event. This means that every athlete we sent to state finished in the top 16 for at least one event. 

Success like this doesn’t come without hard work; the effort that high school swimmers must make to be successful is incredible. Every day, they must manage high school practices at 6AM as well as additional club team practices. Not to mention, they engage in other extracurriculars and keep up with school at the same time. Swimmers must do anything to stay motivated and have team spirit. 

This year, the girls going to state received a video from an alumna who swam, encouraging them and giving them tips. The school also gave them lion tattoos to wear during the meet to show team spirit. The whole community, including swimmers, coaches and others turned up to support these athletes.

In conclusion, the girls swim team had an amazing time at the meet, with all of their hard work paying off. Records were broken, finals were swum, and spirit was shown. Congratulations to the Lakeside Girls 2022-2023 Swim Team, along with the lead coaches, Mr. Miller and Ms. Overstreet!