Westside girls swimming to make big splash

The Westside girls swimming and diving team is kicking into high gear, getting ready for the start of the season. The Warriors are coming off a third place finish at the state championships. The team has worked hard and are eager to start the season. The talent and work ethic of the swimmers is there. Head coach Andy Rider is excited about the team’s experience. 

“Girls were returning 19 state qualifiers between swimmers and divers,” Rider said. “There’s a few freshmen that are coming in that are going to be studs right away.”

All the returning swimmers have talent and have been working the entire offseason. Most swimmers are a part of a club or work with coaches to improve heading into the season. Junior Olivia Elbert finished eighth in the 100 breaststroke at the state meet and is optimistic about the season.

“During my club season I trained with Liz Germonprez, who is also one of our coaches here at Westside,” Elbert said. “ We have been working on training how we race, and racing like we train. It’s been a great motto for me and the other swimmers who train with coach Liz during the off season, giving us more confidence in our racing abilities and motivation during hard practices.”

The girls have goals set for themselves and the team. The only way for that to happen is for all the swimmers to work as a team. The team has had team bonding activities all offseason to improve as a team and welcome all incoming freshmen. Sophomore Elaina Kratky is one of the best freestyle swimmers for the Warriors.

“In the offseason most of us swim for different club teams and train separately, or take part in other sports,” Kratky said. “As far as team bonding, we’ve hung out as a team during the summer and gotten to know each other more and welcome the freshmen who are new.”

The girls have set goals as individuals and as a team. The team has high expectations as the team had a great 2021-2022 season. Individuals and the team placed well throughout the season leading to high goals and expectations. 

“Our team’s biggest goal is to win state,” Elbert said. “I know a lot of us also would like to break our relay records and pool records. Marian currently holds all of our relay pool records and that’s something we would like to see go down.”

The team looks ahead to the start of the year. The season begins when the Warriors host Duchesne on Thursday. Dec. 1.