The Warriors competed in the annual Splash of the Titans swim and dive meet last week. This meet was held at the UNO natatorium with Creighton Prep and Lincoln Southwest. Some stand out appearances was Aidan Jackson 2nd place finish in breaststroke in which he finished with a time of 1:00.32. Other highlights include Alex Fitch’s second place finish in both butterfly and breaststroke, as well as Aidan Cunningham’s second place finish in the 500 freestyle. Overall Westside came in at second place behind the Jr. Jays.
This meet brought multiple season records. Westside recorded the season best for the medley relay (2nd in state), and the 400 freestyle relay (5th in the state). Individually, the Warriors recorded a couple season bests. Most notably being Alex Fitch’s 100 back (9th in state) and Aidan Cunningham’s 200 free (3rd in state). Fitch (Jr) has been swimming lights out this year and already has the stats to reflect it. He also ranked third in the state for the 100 meter backstroke. He feels satisfied with his team’s performance, but also understands there is always room for improvement.
“My biggest takeaway is that our team had a great performance throughout our roster,” Fitch said. “But we definitely have more work to do in the weeks leading up to the metro and state championship meets. Many of our young guys had lifetime best performances and we hope to continue that trend into the end of our season.”
Head coach Andy Rider has similar opinions to Alex. Rider has a strong similar pride for his team and is proud of their accomplishments.
“The triangular was a great success for both our girls and boys,” Rider said. “This particular meet is a great test for all our athletes. Prep, Marian and Lincoln Southwest are all great teams with great coaches, and they all bring their A game. We had many personal and seasonal best times throughout the night. A few of our athletes achieved State qualifying times.”
With state coming up in a few weeks, it is vital that everybody on the team takes the proper steps towards getting to where they need to be. These steps can take place in the pool as well as out of the pool. Coach Rider believes after this meet he has a concrete plan to move forward.
“This meet gives both our teams a lot of confidence moving towards the championship season,” Rider said. “It also allows us to see what we still need to focus and improve on being one month out from State.”
