Bring out the history books because there is more to add. On Nov. 30, the swim team made history with the first-ever swim meet at the new Nebraska Crossing YMCA, marking the debut home meet for the Dragons, and giving them a place to call home. Until now, the team has practiced at various locations around the Omaha area.
“We don’t have van rides anymore,” sophomore Caleb Hacker said. “We used to get on a van at 5 a.m. and drive about 30 minutes to a different pool, and then bus rides after school too.”
To the swimmers, the YMCA has provided more than just new, nicer equipment, but a few extra hours of sleep. They continue to have early practices, but no longer are required to make the long drive before school.
There are many new tools that have come with this pool. The team now has blocks and wedges to help them practice their starts. They also have new locker rooms and more lanes, which is a new experience for them.
The head coach, Kari Meister, helped design the pool to fit the needs for the group. She said that it is nice to have a place of their own to call home.
“Now that we have our own pool, it opens up a lot more opportunities,” junior Alex Hallgren said. “This year we have blocks, which we didn’t have in the past, and now we can start working in the morning, not just in the afternoon.”
This team hasn’t just succeeded this season because of the new atmosphere and new equipment. They have been putting in a substantial amount of time and effort into this sport in hopes of continuing to improve their times.
“We practice eight times a week and have additional Saturday practices,” sophomore Emma Brophy said.
The varsity, JV and reserve teams all have certain days they practice before school. In the mornings, they have dry land workouts and opportunities to get into the water. They also practice everyday after school from 4-6 p.m.
This large amount of practicing and hard work is already leading the team to one of their goals: the NSAA state tournament. So far in the season, there have been two meets, and this team already has state qualifiers. Two of the team captains, seniors Dylan Reagon and Halgren, have the state-qualifying times.
“Two of the boys relay got state times and one of the girls relay made it to state,” Coach Meister said. “Emma Brophy’s two individual events were state cuts as well”.
It is only the beginning of the season for this team, but the swimmers have high hopes for the accomplishments that could come this season.
