Swim and Dive State

Finishing out the season with great swims and dives at state

Overview 

This season swimmers and divers worked hard to make their state cuts and goals for the season, even through COVID. Sophomore swimmer Matthew Pierson, says “Since last year, as soon as the season ended I went to club practices and started working towards it [state].” Some athletes have gone to state all their years on the team and while others made it for their first time. Swim and dive have their own separate events that go on during the state meet. 

Swimmer State

Making state is one of the most rewarding and unforgettable things to achieve as a high school athlete. Junior Chloe Convince stated “It [State] was really like exciting because it’s what I’ve been working for all season and it’s why I do high school swim”. State is not just about breaking records and getting best times, it is a memorable event where teammates not only get to bond with one another, but get to connect with other schools. Getting ready for a big meet going on is important so athletes feel prepared and confident. In preparation for state, junior swimmer Mathew Rose has a routine: “Practicing, eating a lot of carbs, making sure that I don’t overuse my body too much before state”. The coaches also help to make sure that the whole team is ready to compete.  

Diver State

Divers work hard on trying to get the best score they can for their individual dives. Most divers have been working their whole high school career to be able to make it to state. Junior state diver Amaha Wiley, stated “Well I started freshman year and I’m a junior so basically 3 years.” The dive team went to state with new dives and got some new school records for Perry. Coach Keddi Kerby said, “We did really well, the divers learned a whole bunch of new dives this year that are more challenging so they went in with better lists than they did last year and we have lots of PR’s new records set.” Divers received scores of between 7 and 8, for most of their dives, making new accomplishments for themselves and the team. 

End of the season

Most athletes have high goals and want to achieve more with their swimming and diving than they already have. Convice’s goals stretch beyond state, “I’m training for trials…the olympic trials and like futures and like the bigger club meets.” State is just one step towards bigger and better meets and goals to try and achieve. The end of the season is always a somber time, but it gives athlete’s time to continue working towards new goals for next season.