Start of the 100 Backstroke Semis

High school season is going great so far! Spring River has just finished our final sectional meet! Some major competition went on in the pool, but my relays and individuals stayed in first the entire way! We won our 200 and 400 freestyle relays kicking our school rival, Eau Claire Memorial to fifth and second place. I had great individual swims, too! I swam the 200 IM at a 2:08.88, staying very consistent with my conference time of 2:08.33, which I’m excited about.

My major focus was on backstroke because I knew the time I swam here would be my seed time for state championships, which I wasn’t even sure I’d make going into the race! I came out strong with a new personal record, sectional record and school record at a 56.86! The only way I won that race was kicking hard on my second half. What I like about swimming the same race is that you learn not only the strengths, but the weaknesses of the people you swim against. For instance, the lane right next to me was a senior, Ms. Ali Glassbrenner, whom I’ve learned has a very weak second 50. I was able to take advantage of that as I evenly split my race at low 28’s kicking Ali down to second place. A regular swimmer knows their competition’s name; a good swimmer knows their weaknesses.

It was such a fantastic meet, especially having my wonderful club friends come over and cheer for me! We got to hang out and watch a movie at my house (Mean Girls, of course!). Then I went to the after-sections party at a team mate’s house, which was also pretty fun. Lots of nerves have built up since then, but I’m fully prepared and feel smooth and strong for State!

It has been one long weekend! State Championships were great! I could not believe how intense and competitive they were compared to the rest of my season. It was a four hour haul to Madison which really did not help when we got into the pool, but travel is something I have had to get used to with high school swimming. The meet was really fun, pretty loud as well! I did alright in my events: I was pleased with my 200 IM time of 2:08.6, but not the tenth place that came with it. I did better in my back stroke. I was glad to earn 5th place, but I wish I could have swam another 56 instead of the 57.3 which would have pulled me into second or third. I would like to blame it on the age of the Madison pool (ancient). It’s so shallow, when you finish your race, you can literally just stand up; it is only four feet deep! The Natatorium is so old; they desperately need a new pool!

Swimming aside, the high light of the trip was definitely laser tag! That sounds kind of bad because we drove four hours to swim, but laser tag was my favorite part. We have an ongoing tradition to play laser tag with our school rivals, Eau Claire Memorial, which is awesome. Just because they are our rivals does not mean their swimmers and divers are not incredibly nice! They’re such a good team and I was glad we got to play laser tag with them! It was one heck of a sweaty and memorable time! Oh, did I mention we beat them at state?!?!? WOOHOO GO SPRING RIVER!!! If only we got some recognition for that . . .. But now with high school season completed, I’m more than excited to get back to club. I really miss my club coach and friends. I am excited to be going back soon, but this high school season is definitely something I will remember for the rest of my life.

One of my team mate's in the 500 Free

It has been one week since Wisconsin High School State and I am feeling great! It is absolutely wonderful to have dessert again, after a long three and a half months! Yesterday I got to go to Minnesota’s High School State Championships for Section AA. Boy, was that a competitive meet! I got to cheer for my friends in their events and take lots of pictures. It was a great experience meeting up with everyone in the stands and cheering for those on deck! So glad I had the opportunity to see some state records be broken! It has really had me thinking about what I need to do once I get back to club to keep up with all these fast swimmers! I have to keep my name on the top 20!

We want it to be us in this picture next year!

The Minnesota meet set me up to be able to calculate some goals for this upcoming club season and prepare for what is ahead. After this I decided I will be going back a week earlier than expected to be sure I am at the top of my game for every single meet. I am so excited for club season; it is my favorite part of the swimming year! Plus now the guys are all in their high school season and the girls get the pool for themselves! Yay! But the best part is getting to see all the meets! I still have not seen my Stillwater teammates swim a dual meet yet, so hopefully the boys’ season will give me a chance to do so. With all that said, I think I’m going to have to start on writing my goal chart! So much to catch up with, so little time!

Jenn Smithson
Team Captain, Penguins
Spring River, WI