The lady Crusaders swim team kicked off their season on December 8 against St. Charles West. The girls also swam Wednesday, December 9, against the Westminster Wildcats! However, this is just the beginning—and the team is working hard to have a good season.

On Tuesday night, the Crusader swim team performed and showed their talent at the Saint Peter’s Rec Plex. Coach Honerkamp took a lot of consideration and time with the girls’ individual and relay races, succeeding to get points for the team.

Even with several girls out of the race for quarantine purposes, Coach Honerkamp kept her relay teams stacked and athletic. The girls 200 medley relay was swam by senior Madelyn Nance, freshman Claire Cunningham, and seniors Kallie Nero and Riley McAteer. While relay races are one of the most intimidating races performed at meets, this group managed to pull out a fast win.

State swimmer Nero has never let down the St. Dominic swim team. Nero competed in the 100 fly and pulled out a fast win with a time of 1:07.3. She also defeated the others in the 500 free with a time of 6:10! Cunningham also showed us her talent winning the 200 free.

The ladies finished off the meet with the 400 free relay. Senior Kelly Henderson started off her group alongside McAteer, Cunningham and Nero. The girls defeated St. Charles West in a show stopping meet, winning 115 to 39.

The next night, the girls came in strong at Westminster. An audience was not accepted at the pool and COVID-19 restrictions were taken very seriously, but this did not stop the girls from swimming their hearts out. The meet took place at 4pm, and the swimmers who were required to quarantine the week before were now able to come back strong and show their dedication.

With a diving team acquired by Westminster, the stakes were high to get those extra points. McAteer,  sophomore Syndye Pickett, Nero and senior Ava Kannady came out strong! After making it to state the previous year, these girls did not fail to show us that they are strong enough to go back. The girls won first for St. Dominic in this intense relay, bringing home another win.

With welcoming arms, new swimmers succeed best at the 50 free. It is a race that these fresh faces focus on during practice and show their hard work in. Seniors Emily Bross and Becca Gentry dove far into the pool, perfected their flip turns and finished strong.

State swimmer Pickett leaves us Crusader fans in awe with her unbeatable talent. Pickett performed in the 500 freestyle, consisting of 20 laps. She finished second and swam all 20 laps in under 6 minutes! Pickett also made the other swimmers eat her bubbles in the 200 IM and 400 free relay, alongside seniors Kate Ryan, Katie Donnelly and McAteer.

With a tough match, the girls managed to show what they’ve got. The competition was challenging and the final score against Westminster was 167-37. The girls have a bright season ahead of them, and we can not wait to see how far they get! The next meet is at the Saint Peters Rec Plex next Friday at 8pm.