After the loss of four-time state champ Claire Park and 3 of its coaches, the Pleasant Valley girls’ swimming and diving team has defied odds this season. The Spartan swimmers have been forced to take leadership into their own hands in order to make sure their team is a competitive force. The Pleasant Valley girl swimmers and divers deserve more credit for the time and effort they put into their sport, and for all they have accomplished this season.

Losing a coach is always hard. After building a relationship during the long swim season, it is difficult to create a strong connection with another coach. This year’s seniors have had to experience the loss of a coach every year of high school. For any other team, it would take years to build back up into a strong program, but these girls are resilient and haven’t let the drama affect them.

Waking up before dawn and having two practices a day has been paying off so far this year for the Spartans. The Pleasant Valley girls’ swimming and diving team has won every dual meet they’ve competed in so far this fall. Senior Lauren Nelson comments, “The school should care about our team because we are one of the top ranked teams in the state with lots of great talent.” With or without a crowd watching, the team continues to accomplish great things in the pool. Often all of the fall sports attention is focused on the football and volleyball teams, but the girls swimmer’s success should not be left out of the mix.

On Tuesday, October 3rd, the Spartans will face their biggest competitor yet, Bettendorf. Every year it is tight meet between the two teams, and the Lady Spartans are hopeful for a big crowd on Tuesday, October 3 at home. “It would be great to see a home crowd support us at such a big meet. It would really boost the team moral.” says senior, Trinity Shi. The Spartan swimmers have stayed under the radar thus far this season, but are hopeful for a great turnout against Bettendorf.