Swimmers dive headfirst into the water at the buzzer, drenching the pool deck among the roar of the crowd. It’s Regionals, and the City High Little Hawks are in position to score and make it to State.

“I think it’s been a good meet,” Laila Butler-Mills ‘21 said. “It feels way more relaxed compared to the other meets we’ve been to recently, like MVC’s.”

Top scorers were Olivia Masterson ‘20, Carly Weigel ‘20, Rika Yahashiri ‘21, and Trinity Sadecky ‘20. City finished third in the district and qualified in nine events for State, with six individual event qualifications (50 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 100 freestyle, 500 freestyle, 100 backstroke, and 100 breaststroke) and three relay qualifications (200 medley, 200 freestyle, and 400 freestyle).

Swimmers reached their taper meet and finished the season at the top of their game. The City High girls swim and dive team shrank gradually from their original size of 33 members as girls ended the season.

“We’ve all been working really hard this year, and everyone’s taper meet has already happened or is happening soon,” team captain Sadecky said. “The tough mid-season practices are paying off now. We can see the time drops happen; it’s exciting.”

The team has been better than past years partly because of the larger turnout. The improvements have been evident in the wins of six out of seven duel meets this season, including victories against Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids Washington. Swimmers express the wish that the season be extended.

“We have a great time and I wish that we could keep our team together longer,” Yahashiri said. “The practices are fun, we’re all supportive and encouraging [of each other], and I don’t think I’m ready to say goodbye yet.”

The team offers opportunities to meet different people, and Sadecky said she talks to girls she wouldn’t have met if they hadn’t been swimming together. Assistant Coach Nikol Lagodzinska said it’s a good team to join to work hard and have fun.

“I think watching the team become closer has been my favorite part of the season,” Lagodzinska said. “Senior Night especially had such great energy. People were happy for the seniors and were focused on each other, not just on their times.”

The girls have gotten to know one another through activities such as peer coaching, which was a notable bonding experience. 

“Peer Coaching Wednesdays have been really helpful to see what we need to work on,” Sadecky said. “And we also get to swim with people of all different levels [of expertise] and give advice on what we can do better on.”

The successful year is closing out with 11 Little Hawks heading to the Girls High School State meet in Marshalltown on November 9.

“It would be awesome to have more time with the team,” Masterson said. “The [team] environment is such a good place to be. It’s genuinely fun to be a part of it.”