With one of the largest teams in the program’s history and a handful of new swimmers, Highland swimming certainly has a promising future. The team kicked off the season Tuesday evening with a home meet against Kearns and Judge. Several swimmers got personal best times and the rams had a top three finisher in the majority of the individual events, along with several event winners. The girls’ team took first and the boys’ team placed second behind Kearns.

For the girls team Zoe Philips, Eva Gontrum, Makayla Harris, and Tyler Stephenson were first place finishers in individual events. Senior Tyler Stephenson broke the team record she previously set in 2013 in the 100 fly with a time of 1:01.02. The girls also took first in the 400 freestyle relay by a significant amount.

Josh Whisenant, Patrick Nordstrom, Andy Silver, and Nick Pryor were first place finishers for the boys’ team. The boys 200 and 400 freestyle relays placed second.

Boys team captain Nick Pryor sees a lot of potential in the young team after this first meet of the season.

“It was a good meet and quite a few people had some best times. The team is working hard in practice and in a few months we should see quite a few new and returning swimmers at state,” Pryor said.

Being the first meet of the season, it is hard to determine how well the season will go. Most of the team consists of underclassmen, therefore this was the first high school meet ever for many of the swimmers. However, the returning upperclassmen come with dedication and experience and the coaches have been full of support.

Senior and girls’ team captain Maddie Kachocki is confident about the year and future for Highland swimming.

“If we continue to work hard we can place very well at state. We have many new swimmers but our coach has been incredibly supportive in teaching them how to compete,” Kachocki said.

Last year, the girl’s team placed third at state, coming close behind Skyline and Wasatch. This year, the girls hope to place higher at state, preferably a first place finish. One of the main goals for the girls is to finally beat Skyline in the relays, something that has been a motivated since close losses to them for the last couple years at state.

Head Coach Mark Gray is going into his second year coaching at Highland. He also coaches the club team Swim Utah, and several of his swimmers contribute to Highland’s team success. In addition, math teacher Natalie Edge has been added as an assistant coach, bringing more coaching experience to the pool deck.

“I feel like our team has a good chance at state this year. We have a lot of talented swimmers and I am already seeing a lot of improvement in each of the swimmers. I’m looking forward to a good year,” Gray said.

With a couple of more months until state, the swim team hopes to continue to improve and be a competitive force in Region 6.

The next swim meet is Thursday, December 4 at Cyprus.