When freshman Maya Lester and captain Claire Field returned to their room after dinner, they found clothes strewn everywhere, suitcases rifled through and even snacks opened. As they searched further, they discovered that around $1000 worth of items were missing, including Lester’s swim bag, AirPods and a Gorjana bracelet.
On Feb. 12, the swimming and diving team arrived at the La Quinta Hotel in Fort Worth, where they stayed to compete in the Southwest Preparatory Conference. The next night, several girls found that their rooms had been broken into.
After dinner, Lester immediately noticed someone had entered.
“My water bottle was on the desk and, because I don’t ever use my water bottle. I knew something was wrong,” Lester said.
The following day, Lester had to borrow a pair of goggles, a cap and a towel from teammates, storing them in a Walmart plastic bag instead of her usual Speedo dry bag. Although Field did not have anything stolen, she could tell something was amiss because her duffel bag had been searched through and the contents were scattered around the room. Her snacks had also been clearly rummaged through, and though none were stolen she chose not to eat them because of safety concerns.
“It felt very invasive,” Field said. “We didn’t really know what was going on completely at first. But when we realized someone went through our stuff, it was unsettling.”
This experience was not an isolated event. When captain Katie Czelusta and freshman Sarah Nguyen first returned, they did not find much had changed. But they soon realized that their peephole, which had been empty the previous day, was stuffed with tissues. According to Czelusta, their bags seemed to have been looked through, and the bathroom lights, which she distinctly remembered leaving on, had been turned off. Although their belongings were moved, only one pair of Nguyen’s shorts seemed to have been taken.
“It was definitely really stressful, especially since many of us would be swimming the next morning,” junior captain Aien Du said. “This was the last thing we needed before a high-performance meet.”
After discovering the break-ins, Du sent a message on both the group chat instructing girls to engage the deadbolt on their door and place a chair underneath the handle. Students in compromised rooms were required to move and consolidate in other teammates’ rooms, but this did not calm all fears.
“No one could have gotten a good night’s sleep knowing rooms had been robbed and someone could break in at any time,” sophomore Maddie Cozart said.
Coaches patrolled the hallways and completed room checks throughout the night to ensure athletes’ safety.
“It was up to us to take control of the situation and make sure our swimmers felt safe. That was the first and foremost priority,” Coach Benjamin Pressley said.
Some of the doors at the hotel did not lock properly, including Du and Cozart’s. While their room was not robbed, it did pose security concerns.
“The hotel actually had a large part to play with it, with just the negligence of the safety of the door latches and lack of cameras,” Pressley said. There was only one camera (in the lobby), no record of when doors were opened and many problems with locks and security.
Additionally, Lester, Field and Du all had interactions with a man behaving suspiciously around the time of the rooms being broken into. While trying to lock her door, Du once noticed that someone was standing behind her waiting to see if she properly closed it.
The bus driver later spotted that same man exiting Lester and Field’s room with a bag in hand, though she thought he was related to the School at the time. After the break-ins, girls made sure to only walk in large groups and alert each other of anything suspicious.
“I saw a lot of teamwork, ways you wouldn’t see in normal circumstances,” Du said. “We really came together as a team to warn each other, calm each other down, and protect one another.”
Despite the eventful night, many swimmers scored high points and placed the next day, bringing back hardware for the School. Even those who did not qualify for finals participated by encouraging teammates and holding posters.
“That St. John’s bubble got shattered, and reality hit, but the team handled it beautifully,” Pressley said. “It was honestly one of the proudest moments that I’ve had; it was better than any gold medal.”
