MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — No matter what happens this weekend, University swim coach Joanna White wants her team to know they should proud of themselves.
The Hawks take the pool this morning for the 2019 WVSSAC State Swimming Championship at the WVU Natatorium with eight individuals and four relay teams competing across fourteen different events. Regardless of the how the final results play out, White is ecstatic with the effort her team has put forth training for the event.
“My hope is for each athlete to do their best and be proud of what they accomplished with their hard work. Since regionals, we’ve been very fortunate and been in the pool every night,” she said. “We’ve been working on a taper set and allowing the swimmers to work more on their skill sets.”
Preliminary competitions begin at 8:30 a.m. Thursday for the boys. The girls will begin preliminary rounds at 4:30 p.m.
The finals are scheduled for Friday.
The George Washington boys’ team will be gunning for its third straight state championship, while Parkersburg High is the defending girls’ state champion.
Over half of the swimmers that will see competition this weekend for the Hawks return with previous state meet experience. White hopes the combination of two week’s worth of strong practices and familiarity with the state meet environment can provide her team with the competitive advantage they need.
“I think each swimmer will do their best work. This is what they’ve been training for all season and I know they’re excited to see how their work pays off,” she said.
“I’m not worried about the competition; I know we have some very strong swimmers also. They are not new to this type of competition and I know they will rise to the challenge.”
Morgantown
Morgantown will look to pick up this weekend where they left off two weeks ago.
The Mohigans bring a contingent of eight individuals and four relay teams across 15 events to state meet competition, and the last time they were in the pool they looked as tough as ever. Numerous athletes shattered personal records at the Region I Championship meet, and the Mohigans hope to replicate that success today and tomorrow.
“Several of my swimmers were taking six to ten seconds off their time, giving it all they had. With the obstacles we’ve had to face, I’m very happy with how we performed,” said head coach Lisa Henline after regionals.
“We had good starts and finishes and the kids were super competitive. They all dug deep.”
