Girls swim team ready to win state title

The girls swimming and diving team is preparing for the NSAA State Championships this week. The Warriors just won the Metro championship and they look to capture the 13th state championship in school history. 

State is the highest competition, full of talent, but the Warriors are going to continue to get better. Westside will compete at the highest level possible and winning it all is a strong possibility. Junior Kate Stevens reflects on the team’s chances at bringing the title back to Westside.  

“We definitely have a really good shot at winning,” Stevens said. “So we need to go in with the best mindset possible and to show ourselves we can get on the podium and finals as much as possible.”

The girls realize that state isn’t a cakewalk and they really need to be ready. The team says they are not doing anything out of the ordinary to prepare, just sticking with the same recipe as before, getting plenty of rest, working hard in practice and pushing to be the best. Sophomore Piper Hagen will be one of the swimmers to watch at state.

“I‘d say we’re doing the same as always, which is just going back to practice with positivity everywhere,” Hagen said. “We are building on what we already know into these last few days of practice and are gonna give it everything we have at state and we’ll see how it plays out.”

The finals are expected to come down to the Warriors and the Marian Crusaders. The Crusaders won the title in 2020 and 2021, falling two points short last year to Lincoln Southwest. The Warriors did recently just edge out the Crusaders in the Metro meet, but they realize to beat them again, they need to continue to be at their best.

“We have lots of great girls in state, so we’re trying to rest and just prepare physically and mentally for the meet,” Stevens said. “We are going to go in with our best mindset possible, swim at are best and see what happens.” 

Lots of people believe that the finals will come down to relays, as they are worth double points. Westside got second place in the 200 and 400 meter freestyle relays in Metro. Westside fell short by .3 seconds to Marian in the 200 freestyle and 1.51 seconds in the 400 freestyle. The Warriors placed fourth in the 200 meter medley relay, while Marian took first place. 

The Warrior girls will try and continue the momentum from Metro into state and put the cherry on top of the season. Westside will be looking for their first state title since 2012. The Warriors will battle Omaha Marian for the team title again at the State Championships at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex in Lincoln, starting with diving finals on Thursday, Feb. 23. The swimming preliminaries will be on Friday, Feb. 24, followed by the finals on Saturday, Feb. 25.