Tess O'Brien
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.”