Junior Alexis Liszewski and sophomore Sarah Nelson returned to the state swim competition for a second incredible year in a row. Going from an 8-8 record the previous year to a splashing 16-6 this season, the two girls were ready for their competitors to eat their bubbles in the pool on February 19 and 20.

With the improvements made from last year, the Lady Crusaders swim team worked together through long and tedious hours of meets and practices. However, with hard work came many beneficial rewards. For Liszewski and Nelson, this meant qualifying for state. With serious determination and dedication, Nelson qualified in five state events: the 100 fly, 200 IM, 50 free, 100 free and 200 free. She placed 16th out of 54 in the 50 free and achieved a personal best of 59.82 in the prelims, as well as placing 17th in the 100 fly.

“When you qualify for state, it’s the best feeling. You know that all your work has finally paid off. I feel so blessed to be on a team that’s pushed me to reach my goals. I was really proud of the team’s season. Everyone put in a lot of effort and hard work,” said Nelson.

Liszewski also persevered through long hours of training to qualify for the 50 freestyle. Although she started off tied for last in her race, during prelims she dropped a half second of her time which moved her up about 30 places in rankings. She placed 23rd out of 54 in the 50 free.

“Throughout the two days, I was full of nervousness and excitement! I was so excited to be there, see everyone and race along with them,” said Liszewski.

Among one of the improvements of the 2016 season was announcing Ms. Jaqueline Moutray as the new coach. The swimmers’ efforts to make this season successful did not go unnoticed.

“I’m really proud of all the work that Sarah and Alexis have done. They’ve gone to multiple practices a day and put in all kinds of hours at the pool. They’ve stayed motivated, come to practice and swam even when they don’t feel well. I couldn’t be more proud of how hard these girls worked this season and how well they swam on Friday and Saturday,” said Coach Moutray.

Nelson and Liszewski definitely made the St. Dominic community proud. Make sure to stop and say congratulations to the two swimmers if you see them around school!