The PV girls’ swimming and diving team has had immense pressure on their shoulders this season, as they worked to achieve their future goals and surpass their previous season. The last three weeks members of PVGSD competed at MAC championships, districts and state. Coach, Frank Demaria, prepared his swimmers for these meets ultimately leading to a 2nd place finish at MAC, 2nd at districts and 7th at state.
The district meet took place at Central High School and PV sent 16 girls off to compete against surrounding schools for a chance to swim at state. From the beginning of the meet to the end, multiple Spartans punched their ticket to state. Libby Staver gained her ticket to state with outstanding swims in the 200 free and the 500 free. “It was a nice sense of security getting my ticket punched in all four of my races and knowing that I had a spot. Getting my ticket punched was an overall exhilarating and overwhelming experience,” commented Staver. 10 other members of PVGSD qualified for the state meet getting the chance to compete in every event. “I am really proud of the team’s performance. We’ve trained really hard throughout the season and even though some people didn’t swim the time they wanted, we went in and gave it everything we had,” captain, Aviana Zahara said.
This past weekend, the girls competed in Marshalltown at the state meet. Diver, Trinity Shi, finished 17th out of 30 and improved her score from the previous meet. The Spartans placed 4th, 11th and 6th in their relays. Staver got 4th in the 200 free and 5th in the 500 free. Christy Bishop placed 16th in the 200 IM and 22nd in the 100 breast. Jordan Neymeyer, a North Scott Lancer proud to be swimming for PV, placed 18th in the 200 IM and 23rd in the 100 breast. Lauren Groenenboom was 11th in the 50 free and 18th in the 100 free. Perapa Chotiprasidhi placed 17th in the 100 fly and 16th in the 100 back. Also in the 100 back, Danielle Nauman swam and placed 17th. Lauren Nelson and Emily Goodman placed 17th and 14th in the 500 free, Emily also was 13th in the 100 breast. Aviana Zahara placed 7th in the 50 free and runner-up in the 100 back. Bishop said, “I think our team did well at state overall. It’s very difficult to hold a taper and do well at two high pressure meets in a row, but we managed to do a good job with keeping a positive attitude.”
Congratulations to all swimmers on their performances, seniors on their dedication to the team and Coach Demaria for his debut coaching this season. “As a team we grew even closer throughout the season, even with the struggle of a new coach. Ultimately we stuck together and grew to know and love Coach Frank. The new addition to the team brought us closer and improved our talents as well,” Staver said. The Spartans had a successful season where they overcame obstacles to achieve their goals individually and as a team.
