This next Senior Season segment will highlight our female swimming and diving Sabercats for the graduating class of 2024. Senior night is fast approaching on January 22nd so make sure to go support the girls! Enjoy reading about this next set of seniors and be ready for boys basketball coming soon. Up fourth… girls swim and dive!
Maggie Bass is a diver and, although skilled, has only been diving for the past two years. One night Bass’ dad suggested that she should join the team, she took his advice and now Bass has been doing it ever since. Bass’ favorite part is practicing because “we practice as a whole district so I get to see all the divers from every school and it’s really fun.” This year the swim and dive team is the largest it has been in years and she enjoys being surrounded by such a diverse and supportive group of girls. Her favorite dive is the back one and a half which is a complicated dive where athletes turn in midair and land in the water headfirst, facing the opposite way in which they started. Although fun, diving isn’t a passion for Bass and this will most likely be her final year in the water. She hopes to achieve new dives and scores this senior year.
Similar to her teammate Bass, Frankie McCoy is also a diver who is on her second year of diving. Her main sport is gymnastics, but she has always wanted to swim and several skills go hand in hand, allowing her to transition better into the sport. Although new, she has recently qualified for the Coaches Invite, which happens in Thorton, where divers have to meet a certain score while swimmers have to meet a certain time, overall being a tough competition. McCoy enjoys diving because, “I think it’s fun to try new things, especially because the worst thing that happens is you smack,” McCoy mentions. Her favorite dive so far is the inward one and a half which is where a diver jumps off the board backwards but dives forward, also including a midair turn. Sbe does not want to continue swimming at a college level but plans to join a club team since it is a fun activity to do with her friends and to continue learning new skills. McCoy’s plan is to qualify for State and she is currently adding new dives to help raise her score.
Nadia Jackson has been swimming the longest out of her teammates; a total of twelve years. Her parents originally signed her up for lessons, “then I just kind of fell in love with the sport and racing sounded fun,” Jackson says. She has been a three-year varsity swimmer and achieved qualifying for State her sophomore year. Unfortunately during Jackson’s freshman year, when she was a flier, she overused her shoulder which led to several micro tears. It still affects her and is one of the reasons she prefers sprint races over long distances, but she continues to persevere and be one of the best senior swimmers. Jackson’s favorite part about swimming is being alongside her teammates. “It’s just better to know you’re not doing it alone and you’re doing it with your friends,” Jackson comments. This is her last year swimming and her goal this final year is to go to State again.
After being on Fossil’s swim team for three years and swimming in total for ten, Claire O’Neale is the current captain of the girls swim team. She is following in her own footsteps as she was the junior year captain last year. As captain, O’Neale likes to make sure it is a positive and safe environment for everyone on the team and she also has to be a strong leader and role model for others. O’Neale enjoys getting closer to people on the team, cheering them on, and seeing the improvement, but that is not the only thing she enjoys. “I like water… it’s calming for me to swim and also is a nice workout I enjoy,” O’Neale explains. She does not plan to continue past high school, and wants to make this season count by making State and “to leave the team on a positive note, to make the girls on the team now want to stay for next year and to encourage them bring other girls to the swim team,” O’Neale says.
Both Addy Peterson’s father and sister were both swimmers before her, paving the way for her future, “It was just kind of fate,” Peterson notes. She has been swimming since she was eight years old and is now the second captain of the girls swim team. Recently due to the large number of swimmers, conferences have been split into conferences A and B determined by skill; Peterson qualified for A. She has also made Academic All-State all four years of high school. After high school, she would like to continue swimming and plans to try out wherever she goes to college but also prioritizes academics. Her favorite part about swim is the team and Peterson wants everyone to be committed and accomplish the hard things together. Her goal for her senior year is to qualify for State, and has only been seconds away since her freshman year. “I think I’m set up well to qualify for this year,” Peterson says.
Lara Sasarman is on her seventh year of swimming, having started in sixth grade and participated all four years of high school, lettering for varsity each year and receiving the title for Academic All-State her junior year. “I played six different sports throughout my entire life and swim has been the only one that really stuck with me,” Sasarman explains. Outside of the water, Sasarman is a dedicated student and excels in all classes, mainly math and science-based ones. She has recently been admitted to her top choice of Arizona State University at their Honors College where she will be majoring in biomedical sciences, and has chosen to not continue swimming. Sasarman is very close with her teammates and would describe them as “in one word: supportive” and how everyone is loving, inclusive, and accepting. Her goal for her senior season is to finish strong since it is her last year and get new best times for her events.
Dusita Suinn has been swimming for eleven years and participating in the girls swim team all four years of high school. She originally got her start to swim because “my best friend was joining a club when we were in first grade and inspired me to learn how to swim.” For her, high school swim is less competitive than club, allowing her to improve her skills while meeting new people and forming friendships. One of her favorite memories was when the team sang Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing at the beginning of every conference. She has lettered for varsity the past three years and plans to continue this year as well as having a title for Academic All-State. Currently swim is a large part of her life, not leaving time to do other activities or clubs which is one of the reasons she does not want to continue swimming at a college level. However, she may join a club team since it is more relaxed and Suinn wants to try several new things during her college experience.
As a kid, Julia Zheng started off playing volleyball, ice skating, and swim, “I naturally had a spark for [swimming],” Zheng says. She has been swimming for the past nine years and has been on varsity all four years of high school. She has created a lasting bond with her teammates, especially during her junior year, and she also enjoys being in the water. She qualified for State her sophomore and junior years for freestyle events and hopes to repeat the trend this year. “It’s my senior season so I just want to have fun and hopefully I can make State again,” Zheng explains. She wants to do her best to represent her team and make long-lasting connections. Zheng does not plan to continue swimming in college since she is more focused on academics but may join a club team. Throughout her high school career, she has been named an Academic All-State and National All-American Swimmer for relay.
