Going to state championships is a daunting task for any extracurricular school program, from marching band to theatre. This is not the case for swim coach Stephanie Carrasco, however.  On November 5, she brought with her twenty four swimmers and divers to the state championships at Skyline High School. There, boys and girls placed ninth and tenth, respectively, a memorable way to end the 2016-2017 season.

For senior Kaylie Jackson, it was an amazing opportunity to finish  her high school career. “It’s been a really good season and I’ve improved my dives a lot and I’ve reached a lot of my goals.” In addition to recently committing to a dive scholarship at Brigham Young University, Jackson was also voted the Arizona Division I Diver of the Year. “It’s exciting that all my hard work has paid off.”

Junior Tai Combs also recalls,  “For state this year, we performed better than we ever have.” Before this, the highest boys and girls had finished was eleventh and twelfth, respectively. This was definitely an improvement from the past, especially for freshman Kalli Fama, who placed second in the entire state in the girl’s 100-meter backstroke.
“Next season, our team is going to be really strong, especially our junior class this year. It’s like they’re on steroids – it’s crazy,” remarks Combs. In terms of improvement for next season, every Puma, like Combs, shares one goal: to get faster. “Just getting faster is obviously a goal,” says Combs, and I think I’ve done that pretty well.” Combs, along with sophomore Tate Lewis and juniors Jayton Jensen and Kaden Miller, set a new record for the 200-meter freestyle relay.

“This year’s team really bonded well together, they were always cheering for each other, helping each other out,” says Coach Carrasco“I couldn’t be prouder as a coach. They’ve worked hard this season and they’ve done everything that I could have asked them to. I’m just very proud of how they competed.”