By Ava Coons, Staff Writer for The Rampage

It’s finally that time of year again… swim season! The PRHS Swimming and Diving team is back and better than ever with both familiar and new faces. Multiple members shared their swimming background as well as their hopes for the season.

Freshman Andrew Kirkpatrick is very eager for his first year on the high school team. He started swimming at seven years old and participates in the 100 Fly and 50 Free. This season, he looks most forward to “getting better as a swimmer and hopefully making it to some major meets like WPIALs.” His favorite part about being on the swim team is the social aspect and being able to make many connections with his teammates. “I’ve been swimming my whole life and the high school team sounded fun. It also sounded like a great place to challenge myself and grow as a swimmer and a person.” 

Freshman Riley Shafer, who competes in the 100 Fly, 100 Breast, and 200 IM Medley, is also excited for her first year on the high school team. She began swimming at the young age of four, and looks most forward to getting a WPIAL cut this season. “Swimming is not as easy as it may seem. We practice a lot more than a lot of other sports, about 16 hours a week. You can’t be good at everything in the sport since there are a lot of aspects to be good at. It’s tiring but working hard is the key.” 

Sophomore Addison Barnes is also looking forward to her first year as a swim team member. She began swimming at two years old, but began competing at five and currently swims the 50 Free due to an injury leave. She looks most forward to becoming a faster swimmer this season, and her favorite part about being on the team is how everyone involved is really nice. “Join if you want to give it a try.” 

Sophomore Sarah Anne Shaffer is thrilled to be returning for her second season with the team. She competes in the 200 Medley Relay, 200 IM, 100 Breaststroke, and 400 Freestyle Relay. She started swimming at seven years old because of her older sister. Her favorite part about being on the team is the team atmosphere and racing, and she looks most forward to racing section meets, WPIALs, and states. “Swimming is a very mentally and physically demanding sport. Practices are hard and everyone is out of breath. People are good at different strokes so they have to do different sets. Every race no matter the distance hurts and most times you will not get a best time. Swimmers need to have determination and mental toughness to keep swimming year round and pushing through the pain.” 

Junior Shane Horan is also excited to return for the new season. He started swimming around three years old, and became a swimmer because he has always enjoyed it and also despises running. He participates in the 100 Back and 200 Freestyle. “My favorite part about being on the swim team is the team itself and the sense of community we have.” 

Senior Matthew Carper, who competes in the 200 Medley Relay, 400 Free Relay, 200 Individual Medley and 100 Breaststroke, looks forward to his final season on the high school swim team. He started swimming at five years old and decided to swim for the school to work as a team to win. His favorite part about being on the team is cheering everyone on and doing relays, and he looks most forward to WPIALs and states. “I’m always busy because of swimming but it keeps me on task and organized.” 

Senior Delaney Allen is also eager to be returning for her final season on the team. She started swimming around a year old, but began competing at around five years old. She swims the sprint freestyle events and, in fact, is a school record holder for individual and relays. Her favorite part about being on the team is being with her friends at both practice and meets, and she looks most forward to going to WPIALs and hopefully qualifying for states. “The practices are tough, but seeing your times at the swim meets and seeing how much you can improve with hard work makes it all worth it.” 

Senior Elizabeth Shaffer, who competes in the 100 Breast, 100 Free, 200 Free, and relays, is ecstatic to be a part of the swim team for one last year. She started swimming at eight years old and joined the high school team since she “swam club for many years, so varsity swimming was naturally the next step.” Her favorite part about being on the swim team is the energy at the meets and the rewarding feeling from hard practices, and she looks most forward to facing good competition in section meets and WPIALs. “Swimming is a huge part of my life; the pool is essentially my second home with how much time I spend there. Varsity practices every weekday after school, and club practices before school Tuesdays and Thursdays with an additional practice on Saturdays. It’s more intense than people tend to perceive it, and success requires a big time commitment.” 

Each member is very eager for what’s to come this season and are glad to be on the team. On meet days, make sure to wish each member good luck!

See more student content from The Rampage at https://www.pinerichland.org/Page/5496.