![Azalia Quinn fills out a mock ballot. On Thursday, Oct. 24 AP Government students did a pretend election to experience what it’s like. “If you can get [students] enthused about voting at a young age, the chances are higher that they’re going to continue this process throughout their adulthood,“ Brian Brown, the AP Gov teacher said.](https://mshsprospector.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/18FGwFbMo8mtfWGnVEvaqiODxDZhuV9ipRw3DAgL-1200x960.jpg)
The long awaited pre-season has finally arrived for the Girls Swim and Dive team. Starting on Oct. 24, the girls have gone to the pool to swim every Tuesday and Thursday after school in anticipation of the first day of the season.
The team is coached by head coach Whitney Nuci, assistant coach Olivia Barker, and a new Dive coach that the girls have not met yet. This is the first time in two years that there has been a dive coach and excitement buzzes through the pool. With the addition of divers to the team this season, the girls will no longer be missing out on the points they get from having a diver.
After the graduation of the seniors last year, the team lost many of the older and more experienced swimmers, but the girls are still bringing the same positive, ready for it attitude. “I’m excited about getting a chance to swim at the high school level, but also being able to share the experience with my teammates again,” Ace Fridman, a returning sophomore on the team said.
Nuci is also excited for the new season. “Every year brings new adventures and challenges that influence the day to day coaching operations and the way the team functions,” Nuci said.
The Swim and Dive team is a tightly knit group of girls who put a lot of work into making sure that team bonding happens and everyone is included. No matter what the skill level or goals are, the girls on the team are going to be there to support each other.
One of the most exciting things for freshman Cali Martinez is the memories that she gets to make with the team. “I am really looking forward to spending time with these girls and getting to know each and every one of them,” Martinez said. “I think we will all build each other up and help each other improve.”
A big part of the appeal to the swimmers is the freedom of the meets, where they can frequently choose to swim the events that they like. “I like being able to see exactly how much I am improving in my times, and I also like how many different events I can swim,” Fridman said.
Through coaching swim, Nuci aims to help the girls persevere through the challenges that come with swimming. “It’s a hard sport and it’s hard to understand,” Nuci said, “but the more you persevere through it, the easier it’ll be.”
Swimming isn’t a sport that distinctly splits into junior varsity and varsity because it’s an individual sport. You see the division more in heat sheets that group the racers by their speeds and, additionally, the people who come back in their races for the second day of a meet for finals can also be considered varsity swimmers.
“My favorite thing about swim is whenever life gets crazy, I can jump into the pool and all that crazy goes away,” Martinez said.
