Senior swimmers lead way as Wildcats ready themselves for sectionals

Off the wall and on to the last lap of their race, the lady Wildcats swim team are sprinting headfirst into the championship season after a record-breaking run. By smashing records, the ladies have exceeded expectations for the season.

For senior captain Samara Zeinert, the progress the team has made as a whole has especially stood out.

“I feel like people have done a really good job at putting themselves out there,” she said. “Trying new events, joining a new team, even if they’ve never done a sport before and just being a part of this environment and adapting to swimming.”

The camaraderie built throughout the season binds the team together, becoming a second family to the swimmers. Senior Kate Horejs has reaped benefits from such companionship.

“It’s been really fun watching each lane become unified as one,” she said. “We spend a lot of time together, just during practice and we become really close to the people in our lane.”

For Head Coach Kel Van Sistine, the advancements made in the team’s work ethic have been quite noteworthy. 

“There have been some really great individual improvements as far as technique and time,” she said. “I also think with our win over Neenah, there has been a lot of team improvement. Like a lot of people working together towards a common goal, whether that’s a relay or an event, just working together makes us stronger.”

Even though swimming is an individual sport, the team spirit permeates through to their meet-day frame of mind.

“I feel like a big thing that we’ve been working on this season is our attitude throughout meets,” Horejs said. “In practice, the days can get really hard and really long, but we’ve been improving on that.”

The team has the ability to focus on the task at hand and train towards their goals despite their differences, according to Coach Lori Salzer. 

“I think that overall the work ethic is good,” she said. “Considering what I see in other areas, and that’s just an overall, I mean not everyone has the same work ethic but as a whole we do pretty good.”

Above all else, sights are set on the upcoming meets. The girls are focused on the paramount importance of state and making history.

“We’re in a really interesting spot this season, where we have a really good chance at getting relays to state, so I think we all have a common goal to help get a relay to state,” Horejs said.

As the season continues, each member of the team has attempted to determine which event fits them best. Zeinert believes that discovering their strengths and weaknesses is the key to success for their team during the season.

“I feel like in general as a team getting people to do races that are not as fun, like the 500 free, the fly, and the individual medley, that's really important to our team that we have everyone in different events and everyone finding their niche and something they’re really good at,” Zeinert said.

As the season began to reach its midpoint and teammates were struggling with the work-life balance. Using her experience, Zeinert relies on herself to snap out of slumps.

“I think a big part of it is definitely the mental aspect,”  she said. “You have to get over those days where everything is harder and you have a bad attitude going into practice, but you just have to know that in the long run it will be worth it and it will get closer to your goals.”

Hopes are high for the possibility of making it to State, with their upcoming sectionals meet taking place on November 9. Starting their season in August, the biggest challenge lies in the length of their regular season, but Van Sistine remains hopeful for the team’s efforts during a potential championship season.

“It’s a long season and I think that watching the girls work hard day in and day out, it’s hard to remember those goals for the end of the year, or end of the season,” she said. “The girls ended our dual meet season on a high note, and I’m hoping that they carry that into their championship season and keep that good energy going and focus on the highs instead of the ups and downs of the season.”

by Kate Ruby and Evan Parfitt

Published November 4th, 2024

Oshkosh West Index Volume 121 Issue II