UPDATE: York finished in second place at Sectionals with a final score of 230.5.  The state qualifying events are as follows:

200 Medley Relay – Winona Asher, Paula Nolte, Maggie Schlecht, Sarah Lewand

200 Freestyle Relay – Meghan Quinn, Sarah Lewand, Winona Asher, Maggie Schlecht

400 Freestyle Relay – Sarah Lewand, Ailie Orzak, Meghan Quinn, Maggie Schlecht

200 Individual Medley – Paula Nolte

100 Breaststroke – Paula Nolte

50 Freestyle – Maggie Schlecht

Diving – Katie Fischer

This is the first time that York has sent all three relays to compete at the state level.

The girls swim sectional team is a small group of swimmers that have qualifying times that allow them to continue competing once conference is over.  These girls range from freshmen to seniors and all have times that place them as the top two in their respective events.  All of the girls were asked the same question: How do you prepare for sectionals both in and out of the water?

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Sarina Kao – Senior

Event: 100 butterfly

“I drink a lot of water the week before sectionals, I make the best of swim practice, and I eat scrambled eggs before the meet.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Winona Asher – Junior

Events: 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 100 backstroke

“Eating healthy and doing every swim set the way it is intended to be done.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Carli York – Senior

Events: Sectional alternate

“Get lots of rest and get ready to support the other girls on the team.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Meaghan McIntyre – Junior

Events: 100 butterfly, 500 freestyle

“I drink plenty of water, get lots of rest, and try not to eat as much Halloween candy as possible.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Meg Quinn – Sophomore

Events: 200 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay

“Hydration is key and you have to eat lots of fruits and vegetables and stretching is very important.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Delaney Tase – Freshman

Events: 200 freestyle

“I eat healthy, drink lots of water, and visualize my race.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Ailie Orzak – Junior

Events: 200 individual medley, 400 freestyle relay

“The way I like to get ready for sectionals is to get the proper amount of rest instead of staying up until 12AM doing my homework and watching Netflix.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Maggie Schlecht – Senior

Events: 200 medley relay, 50 freestyle, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay

“Outside the pool I like to stretch, drink a lot of water, eat healthy foods, and tell myself that I should trust the taper because it has worked in the past.  At practice to prepare, I work on fast reaction times off the blocks and in my 50 freestyle, I only take one breath so during practice I practice where I’m taking that breath and how the whole race will go.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Paula Nolte – Senior

Events: 200 medley relay, 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke

“In the water I really try to focus on the mechanics like starts and turns to have a good race, and out of the water I try to stay mentally tough.”

Photo By: Tess O’Brien

Nicole Bednarik – Freshman

Events: 100 breaststroke

“I eat a healthy breakfast everyday and do some of my homework at school so I don’t have as much to do at home.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Lydia Faber – Senior

Events: 500 freestyle

“One way I prepare for the sectional meet in the pool is by always doing my best.  It is important to never quit because it is the only way to reach your full potential.  Both inside and out of the water, it is important to stay positive.  This is especially easy for me because I like to laugh and talk even though the set may be difficult.  Go Dukes!”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Sam Harrington – Freshman

Events: 100 backstroke

“To prepare for my race, I usually visualize my races before and then I keep a positive attitude to be mentally prepared.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Sarah Lewand – Junior

Events: 100 freestyle, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay

“What I do to stay positive and get pumped in and out of the pool is, I always try and stay positive and make sure that I can be the best that I can be by getting a lot of sleep, eating healthy, drinking A LOT of water, and overall encouraging my teammates.”

Photo by: Tess O’Brien

Kate Fischer (left) – Junior

Birgitte Kammerdiener (right) – Freshman

Events: 1 meter dives

Katie: “What I do to prepare for sectionals in the water is just to train with a confident mind and be aggressive and outside of the water, just eat healthy and focus on visualizing good dives.”

Birgitte: “Outside of diving you have to work out and visualize all of your dives and in diving, you have to do the dives, train your hardest, and use all of your power and effort.”