As winter sports draw to a close that means state is just around the corner.

The swimming team will be taking around 20 swimmers to state Friday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, Feb. 28.

Swimmers can make the cut for the state meet at any meet throughout the year.

To qualify, a swimmer can either make the primary cuts or the secondary cuts. To make the primary cuts, a swimmer must get under the qualified time at any meet throughout the season. There are secondary cuts to make sure that there are 32 swimmers swimming in each event.

“It’s really [about] the hard work you put in earlier in the season,” varsity swimming coach Nicholas Joslin said.

Junior Samantha Baker made it in the primary cuts.

When swimmers make state they swim on the Friday of state, and if a swimmer is in the top 16 in their event, they get to swim again on Saturday.

Baker hasn’t made it to Saturday after making it to state the past two years, but this year she hopes to after all the hard work.

“I feel like I’ve trained harder this year than the last two years,” Baker said. “[We] practice all the time. Mornings, afternoons, snow days, Saturday mornings.”

The many practices throughout the season are crucial to qualifying to state.

Although the swimmers have a lot of practices, the swimmers get more of a break the last two or three weeks before a big meet so they’re a little more rested.

Overall, Joslin thinks Westside swimming will do well at state this year, with the usual amount of swimmers going as previous years.

“I think there’s a lot of people that are going to drop some time,” Joslin said. “Hopefully we’ll have some pleasant surprises.”