Be sure to subscribe to The Review Online to receive notifications when we post more Winter SPC Recaps!

As the buzzer sounds, eight swimmers simultaneously launch themselves into the water. Captain Lexi Pickens glides in her streamline as other Maverick swimmers line the edge of the pool, cheering enthusiastically for their teammate. Sophomore Ainsley Dodson, freshman Ella Flowers and sophomore Georgianna Matthews complete the relay, scoring 18 points and claiming first place in the Southwest Preparatory Conference 200-yard medley relay.

This victory set the tone for the rest of the meet, with the girls earning first place in 9 out of the 12 events, helping them beat Kinkaid by 62 points and become SPC champions for the second year in a row.

“The biggest difference between this year and last year was the confidence,” junior captain Katie Shelburne said. “Rather than having the intent to be competitive, we had the intent to set some records.”

The Mavericks broke seven school records at the meet, including times by Flowers in the 100 backstroke, Katie Shelburne in the 200 and 500 freestyle, and junior captain Sydney Buchman in the 100 butterfly and 100 breaststroke. Pickens, Matthews, Dodson, Shelburne and Buchman set school and SPC records for their times in the 200 freestyle relay and the 200 medley relay.

Boys’ Swimming and Diving came in second after a grueling neck-and-neck battle against John Cooper. The Mavericks had to swim faster than their seated times for the races in order to beat out John Cooper, which added additional pressure for the boys at the meet.

Despite their nerves, almost every single swimmer on both the girls’ and boys’ team dropped time in their events. Freshman swimmer Katie Wasserman attributes this improvement to the encouraging atmosphere at the meet.

“We won by more than we were expected to, and I think it’s because the team was cheering us on,” Wasserman said.

Shelburne admits that if the team had not been supporting her on the side of the pool during her race, she would not have dropped as much time during the race. At the meets leading up to the final conference, more swimmers improved their performance and recorded times that qualified them for the SPC championships.

“I loved seeing people getting SPC times at smaller meets because it showed the swimmers aiming for something bigger than themselves,” Pickens said. “Everyone was ambitious about what they wanted to achieve this season.”