Pleasant Valley Girls Swimming and Diving (PVGSD) team officially completed their season at the state meet in Marshalltown where they placed in the top eight.
The girls have been in high gear preparing for this meet since they qualified at the districts competition. They slowly went down in yardage throughout the week to ensure they were well-rested, or tapered as they call it, and ready to race in Marshalltown.
The boys’ swim team wished the state qualifiers good luck by having two swimmers, Jacob McCredie and Noah Streeter, deliver each girl a red rose. McCredie, one of the senior captains said, “We think that handing out the roses is a good way to show our support as we understand how tough swimming is.” This heartwarming tradition started last year and will surely continue for seasons to come.
Once the team was sent off by the rest of the school, they hopped in their Suburbans and took off for the three hour drive. Nerves may have been high, but the girls kept positive energy flowing every step of the way.
The girls were especially high strung because this state meet was a completely new format. They had to swim Friday night in the preliminary competition to secure a spot in Saturday’s final heats, which only the top 16 girls in each event could participate in.
Friday night competition got off to a slightly rough start with most girls adding a bit of time from their personal bests, but by the time the first-event-jitters got out of the way, the swimmers held their own against the best in the state. With the selective nature of the meet, 8 out of the 12 girls made it back for finals the next day.
The 200 yard medley relay was the team’s highest finish in the top five. As one of the senior captains Libby Staver said, “The competition was really tough, but we did our best and I’m so proud of the teammates for that.”
Staver’s teammate and fellow senior captain Lauren Groenboom said, “It was hard saying goodbye to high school swimming, but we are leaving the team in good hands.”
