As the varsity Girls Swim and Dive season comes to a close, Sectionals and State championships are approaching.  Even with new adjustments, the team has been continuing to work hard towards future success.

“Practice is at least two hours a day after school, often with a second practice in the morning, and we are pretty much swimming for the whole time without any breaks,” Varsity swimmer Dylan Jorgensen ‘26 said. 

This is just one example of how hard the team has been working this season. Some of the changes that they have faced are the addition of their new coach, Brendan Weibel. 

“It’s been great to be back at LT and join a program (swimmers and staff) that does such a great job,” Weibel said. 

For many years, the team has had the same coach, so this transition has definitely been an adjustment. However, they are getting used to it, Jorgensen said. 

“Getting a new coach in general was a lot; everyone was skeptical at first,” Jorgensen said. “Now, [being] split up into Varsity, JV 1, and JV 2, it is a lot different than we [are used to], and it is a bit of an obstacle for us since we are not together with our whole team.”

However, even with this challenge, they have been persevering and working harder than ever. They have won four of their invitational meets so far this season. Along with this, the freshmen have been providing so much new talent. 

“High school season is so different from what I’m used to, and it’s definitely an adjustment being at school for this long and not having late starts [on Wednesday because of morning practice],” swimmer Anna Fagans ‘29 said. “I am definitely learning resilience and learning how to get up after being tired.”

Along with their new talent, their returning talent is strong. The girls have high hopes for Sectionals and State. At Sectionals on Nov. 8, the girls aim to win, and on Nov. 14-15 at State, they hope to place within the top three. 

“Everyone’s been super positive and working hard,” Jorgensen said. “The environment has been really good. I really want to qualify and get good times during sectionals, and at State, I want to final [place in the top eight] individually. As for the team, I really just want us to all do well and swim our fastest.” 

On the other hand, Weibel’s plan for the girls looks a little different for the remainder of this season. He is focusing on maintaining effort and improving times as much as possible, as well as preparing the team for a strong performance at sectionals.

“The team has consistently put in the work this season,” Weibel said. “They’ve set themselves up to have a great end of season. I’m not concerned about places at Sectionals and State, I’m entirely concerned about the team going faster than they ever have before.” 

To prepare for these meets, the team has started its taper during practices. During tapering, the girls are slowly losing yardage and have slightly lower intensity workouts. Jorgensen said. Weibel plans to end the season with consistent practices but easier training.

 “We’ll keep a pretty typical practice schedule for the rest of the season, Weibel said.” “Resting will be fairly individualized, so schedules will differ amongst the team.”