The Greendale varsity swim team ended their season with six athletes making it to the state meet at Waukesha South on Nov. 10-11. The athletes that participated were seniors Nikolina Gallo, Hannah Mellock, Izzy Nowak, and sophomores Lydia Anderson, Bailey Sowa, and Chloe Yerkes.
Mellock placed 7th in the 200 freestyle and 2nd in the 500 freestyle, Yerkes placed 8th in the 100 butterfly and 6th in the 100 back, Gallo placed 9th in the 500 freestyle and the 400 free relay team placed 7th and the medley relay placed 14th.
This shows that competitiveness is the biggest reason that the swim team had such a successful season was because of the work they put in during the off season, “Since swimming is a year round sport, before high school I train and compete with my club then during the summer I transition,” Mellock said.
Competitiveness plays a big part in the team’s success, as many athletes would get discouraged when they aren’t the best on the team or when they are constantly told that they can do better. But this swim team was the opposite; they used it as motivation. They wanted the best for each other.
“My teammate Hannah pushed/motivated me the most. Seeing how she worked at practice inspired me. She was also always encouraging me to push myself harder while at practice,” Gallo said.
The season isn’t all about competitiveness, the team built up much chemistry by simply just having fun and enjoying their times they had with each other,
The performance at state was nothing but great, with every swimmer dropping multiple points and beating their personal best. With the team captain Mellock, placing second in state, she shows everyone why she deserves the role as Captain.
