The girls of the South Windsor Swim Team have been working really hard as they approach the State Finals at SCSU, making impressive successes throughout this year’s season. Senior captains Anna Garvey and Kellie Sartoris have been encouraging the other girls to do their best in the pools, while simultaneously reaching their own goals. Kellie shaved 18 seconds off of her time, making it her personal best. While Emma Hapkiewicz also received an all All-Conference title after winning the 500 freestyle.

Not only are the captains good role models for the rest of the swimmers, but their coach Laura McLaughlin continuously pushes them along and has made the team have a family-like atmosphere. Sarah Sartoris, a senior, stated “She’s super chill and she took her time to really connect with us.” The girls spend most of their time together as they have practice every day for 2 hours and sometimes more, while also going to meets and doing an hour of warm-ups before the meets.

This fall, 10 of the girls made the State Trials and the State Finals as well. Once there, they will be competing in Class L with girls from different towns and areas. Some of the events they will be participating in are the 200-yard medley relay, the 500-yard freestyle, and 100-yard breaststroke. Having 10 girls in the State Finals is a big deal, and all the hours of swimming have really done justice for the team. Some students have even expressed their support for the young athletes. Gianna Poggie, a senior, said “It’s really nice to see women thriving and doing great things like this, I’m really proud of them and I hope they feel the same way about themselves. Congrats to those ladies.” A lot of the swimmers appreciate support like this from people, Kellie Sartoris stated, “It’s feels good when your hard work pays off and you get recognized for it.” Overall, this fall season has been a good one for the SWHS girls swim team and they are hoping to end it with a job well done at the State Finals.