Westside’s swim and dive teams delivered a dominant performance at the annual Warrior Invite, with both the boys and girls teams taking first place as the program prepares to host the Omaha Metro meet for the first time in more than two decades.
The Warrior Invite, one of the largest meets hosted by Westside each year, also served as a preview for the upcoming Metro competition, which has not been held at Westside since the early 2000s.
“I’m super excited to have it here,” head coach Andy Rider said. “It’s a lot of work. This meet was kind of a good gauge for that. Things ran really smoothly today, and I’m hoping that in two weeks we can showcase it to the whole Metro.”
This year’s invite featured 12 teams, while the Metro meet is expected to bring in around 17 schools. Rider said the similar scale will help the team prepare for hosting responsibilities.
“I’m excited, I’m a little nervous with it being back at Westside,” Rider said. “But we’re ready for it, and I think there’s going to be some really fast swims.”
Westside’s boys team won by a commanding margin of nearly 200 points, while the girls team secured a narrow victory by just nine points.
Rider credited the team’s depth and strong performances across the board for the success.
“We had a lot of our girls get best times and season bests,” Rider said. “Sadie Rogers, Gwen Fonda, Elizabeth Bender and Berkeley Gamer all stepped up. On the boys side, Pearson Kracky, Spencer, Jake Jepson, Will Cartright and Aiden Olsen — we’re really deep, and every swimmer stepped up and swam their role.”
Senior swimmer Will Cartright said the victory carried added meaning for the team.
“It means a lot,” Cartright said. “We were all really excited to race, especially in our new pool. To represent Westside like that means a ton.”
Cartright also reflected on the program’s history and those who helped build it.
“To win this means so much, especially for Lisa Ellis — an amazing coach,” he said. “It feels like we’re giving back to everything she gave to Westside.”
Senior Sadie Rogers said competing in their home pool added to the excitement.
“It’s so cool,” Rogers said. “This is the pool we train in every day, and it will be really exciting to race here with so much strong competition.”
The boys team’s depth stood out throughout the meet, something Cartright said has been a key improvement this season.
“Beyond impressive,” Cartright said. “Every individual, every relay — our boys have done incredible. We have strength in almost every area this year.”
With momentum from the Warrior Invite and confidence in both teams, Westside now turns its focus to hosting the Metro meet — a milestone event for the program and a chance to showcase its growth on a larger stage.
