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Karagan Knowles, Salpointe Honors Staff Writer
Karagan Knowles (Salpointe Crusader)
The Lancer girls swim and dive team will compete during the season in order to prepare individuals for the Division II State Meet. With a convincing win over Ironwood Ridge and Cienega in their first meet, the Lancer girls look to be a serious contender for state honors again this year.
The girls swim and dive team’s home pool is located at Amphitheater High School and girls swim competitively at 4:00 pm. Divers compete on the preceding Wednesday at 4:00 pm at the UA pool.
Swimming is an individual and team sport. Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic sports, with events in freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly. The goal of competitive swimming is to break personal records while beating competitors in a given event. Once an individual has placed in an event, a certain number of points are assigned. The team with the highest overall score wins the meet.
The official first meet for girls swim was held on Sept. 10 against Cienega and Ironwood Ridge. The Lady Lancers scored a 160, Ironwood Ridge scored a 93 and Cienega scored a 70. The girls are excited to compete in future upcoming meets.
“Swimming gives me a sense of freedom and agility. It is a way to get away and compete. This season is going to be a good one and we are all ready for it,” said sophomore Oniya Valencia.
“I’m a transfer this year and it’s a great experience to be a part of the team,” said sophomore Dalen Hinderaker.
The swim team works hard in practice to achieve high scores during the meets. The team hopes to prove themselves to have a good season and get to State.
“Our goal is to put in hard work at practice and have it be reflected in our meets,” said sophomore Katie Hicks. “With all our effort, we hope that we will take State this year.”
The Lancer girls dive team performs at different times and locations than swim. Diving and competitive swimming seem similar, but are different in performance and flexibility. Diving is the sport of jumping into water from a platform or springboard, usually while performing acrobatics.
“The dive team is exceptional. The swim and dive teams each have several great athletes and we all mix very well,” said Oniya.
Swim and dive teams practice every school day and several weekends in order to prepare for the season. With hard work and dedication, the Lancer girls swim and dive has a good chance of breaking some school records and setting many ‘personal best’ records..
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Andy Morales was recognized by the AIA as the top high school reporter in 2014 and has been a youth, high school and college coach for over 30 years. His own children have won multiple state high school championships and were named to all-state teams. Competing in hockey, basketball, baseball and track & field in high school, his unique perspective can only be found here, on AZPreps365.com and on the pages of the Vail Voice and the Tanque Verde Voice. Contact Andy Morales at AMoralesMyTucson@yahoo.com
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