Swim season has come to an end and finished successfully. The girls had endless support from each other as well as the school, and have said goodbye to an incredible coach who has shaped them into the swimmers they are today, Mike McCloskey. 

The girls have become one big family, and describes their experience as a “once in a lifetime team.”

One of Blanchet’s juniors, Sofia Nyberg, mentions how, “through Metros and Districts, it has been incredible to watch the team improve. This season is unforgettable, with dropped times, swimmers making it to state, karaoke on the bus rides, and making new friends as well as strengthening my older friendships.” 

The girls were excited and determined to do well in districts as they approached. Although, the results of the meet sadly were a little rough. 

The girl’s 4×100 relay team get Disqualified in their race as they had a false start. They were devastated, but it turns out the official was wrong. With that, still, the swimmers didn’t get to swim.

As the girls tried to forget about the district’s meet and focus on State,  Junior Ella Haskins describes her experience at the State meet as a time for progression. And time to push herself and her limits to achieve her goals. Her relay was able to move up in the seeding, but her individual race, as well as relay, didn’t end up doing as well as she thought.

“I got third in the 100 free, said Haskins, but was seeded second in prelims for in. I got 4th in the 50 free, but I was seeded 4th. Our relay was close to breaking the school record but fell short in the finals.”

The season finished off better than expected, but the swimmers still have goals that they want to reach by the end of high school. Each season the swimmers continue to improve and set records at Bishop Blanchet. 

As a freshman, Ella Haskins has broken her own records, and this year, as a junior, she broke more. She broke both the 50 and 100 free records, although she fell a few hundredths short of an all-American status. 

The season ended well, though. Junior swimmers Ella Haskins and  Nyberg, said how having coach Mike leave was “heartbreaking, he was a dad or family to all the swimmers.”

Haskins continues by saying, “He was one of the greatest coaches I and everyone else had,” said Haskins. 

The swim season has officially ended, but finished with motivation to get into next season with drive and determination. Bishop Blanchet is proud and ecstatic to have a swim team like ours and is excited to see what the future holds for all of the swimmers.