Kara Simpson

Smiling with her team, sophomore Sofia Ellison celebrates after she and her teammates won April 8 at the SM Aquatic Center. Her relay team broke the school’s girl’s 200 Yard Freestyle Relay record. They eclipsed the record by only 0.1 seconds. “I’m really proud of my teammates,” Ellison said. “It’s been a goal for us all season long [to beat the record].” photo by Kara Simpson

Our very own Shawnee Mission Northwest Girls Swim Team, again, broke the relay record for the 200 freestyle and hopes to set a new one at State.

The Girls Swim State Championship is on May 17-18 at the Shawnee Mission Aquatic Center at 4:00 p.m. Attending state is freshman Sophia Boshart, sophomore Sofia Ellison, sophomore Kate Busenitz, sophomore Emma Fehr, junior Sahara Bhakta, senior Josie Malara, senior Ella Jones and senior Mya Lee, united by a common goal: podium. 

“Everyone is so fast this year, we’ve all really come up so much,” Jones said. 

“I think we’re all pretty confident about it,” Malara said. “We’ll get a lot of medals there, honestly. I have a lot of faith.” 

The team has high hopes for the 200 freestyle relay, but the girls also aim to crush personal records.

“I want to get a low 25 in my 50 free,” Malara said. “And then I want to get 56 in my 100 free.” 

The girls are currently going through what their coach calls “hell week.” It’s an intense level of training that uses parachutes, drag socks and drag gloves to restrict and hold their form. They also work on power training, which means they’re in the weight room constantly to build up their strength. 

“As a coach,” Ryan Lee said, “My goal is always to make the school proud, make the city proud, and put them in the best position to achieve their greatness.”