Friday, February 19, 2010, the Westminster Girls Varsity Swim Team made their way to the 2010 MSHAA Girls Swimming and Diving Championship at the St. Peters Rec Plex.
Competing were Ellie Straub, freshman, Rebecca Krause, sophomore, Haley Bergman and Abbie Clark, juniors, and Katherine Fleissner, Shay Weststeyn, and Rebecca Zandstra, seniors.
“We were all so excited to be there. Not just the seniors, but what was the most exciting was to see all the younger girls compete at state and do so well,” said Rebecca Zandstra, senior.
The competition was split up into two days: Friday was the preliminary round and Saturday was the finals. On Saturday only the top 16 swimmers and relay teams returned to compete. This consisted of Zandstra in the 100 Freestyle and the Free Relay team of Zandstra, Fleissner, Weststeyn, and Krause.
Zandstra placed 9th in the 100 Freestyle, and the Free Relay team placed 10th.
“It was really incredible to see younger people who worked so hard do so well. It really is all about working in the off season to do well at state,” said Molly Anderson, senior Captain.
Bergman swims on a club team all year round in order to stay up to beat, as well as Rebecca Zansdstra.
“In order to stay in shape and up to beat, and really to be successful for the next season, it is almost necessary to swim consistently during the off season,” said Bergman.
The Medley Relay team, which consisted of Straub, Clark, Bergman, and Weststeyn, received 31st place in the preliminary round and therefore was not able to move onto the finals. Bergman also placed 24th in the 100 breaststroke and was not able to move on to the Finals.
However, this had no affect on the motivation and determination of the team for next year, accept motivating them to work harder.
“I definitely want to make state again next year and my goal is to place top 16 so I can move on to the finals,” said Bergman.
Regardless of who won or what place was received, the moral of the team was consistently positive and uplifting, allowing for a great team experience no matter the outcome.
“The spirit was amazing. We just have such a close team and no matter what everyone is always so supportive. It was so much fun and everyone on the team really is amazing,” said Bergman.