With the Girls Swim and Dive season starting on Nov. 17, the team at Manitou Springs High School is currently working to prepare for the season and get more students involved in the sport.
Last year, the team held their practices at Woodland Park High School due to the conditions of the pool in Manitou Springs.
One of the hopes for this year was that the team would be able to practice at the pool in Manitou. However, due to current construction at the pool, students will be practicing at Coronado High School until January.
Mack Tehan, a senior going into her second year on the team, believes one of the team’s weaknesses from the previous season and this upcoming season is their lack of a home pool to practice at. “We struggle with being at practice at other schools because it’s a completely different experience,” Tehan said. “Having to share a pool with other people versus being at your home is very important for the strengths of a team, and being able to go at your own pace.”
Even though the team was impacted by the status of the pool and where they were practicing, Krissy Stout (12), a student going into her fourth year of Swim and Dive, believes that the team still had many strengths last season. “I think that some of the biggest strengths that our team has is we’re able to work together with it being such an independent sport,” Stout said. “We’re still so connected with each other, and we’re still so motivating towards each other.”
Stout also appreciates the team’s work ethic and ability to work through challenges regardless of the result. “There’s a lot that goes into our team’s thought process,” Stout said. “I think that our team strives to try and be the best we can, whether we know that we’re going to lose or not. I think that that’s a really good part of our team, just knowing that we’re still going to try our hardest.”
Something that Sierra Tanner (12), another student going into her fourth year of Swim and Dive, believes that students themselves could improve on from last year is the way in which they view themselves within the sport. “I know a lot of people on the swim team criticize themselves a lot,” Tanner said. “It would be awesome to see them just be themselves and let themselves have fun. Overall, I think we should keep being the supportive team that we are for each other.”
Last year the team did have a few achievements. There was a diver who qualified for state in the first meet, and other students who made it to state and finals. Stout feels proud that the team did very well, and that they were able to compete against teams that they didn’t expect to. “Rhys Parratt went to state last year for diving specifically, and we had a lot of girls go to state that had never been to state before,” Stout said. “I think overall, we were very competitive last year, and I think that that’s a huge achievement. We went up against some teams that we never thought we were going to be able to go up against, and I think that we were a very powerful team for being so small.”
Aside from going to state and competing with different teams, the Swim and Dive team also had many personal achievements as well. Tehan is very proud of making new PRs, especially because she had never participated in the sport before. “It was a little bit hard on me, and I was hard on myself, but I still did the best that I could,” Tehan said. “I just got better and better throughout the season.”
The team is currently in preseason right now, with the actual season starting on Nov. 17. Due to the construction at the Manitou pool, the team meets every Monday to do “dryland” practice, which includes core strengthening, running, and other training, while the team works on coordinating with Coronado for future practices. “We’re slowly trying to figure out dates and coordinating with Coronado because that’s where we’re going to be swimming,” Tanner said.
The team is making an effort to get more students involved in the sport this year by inviting students to preseason and hanging posters around the school. Stout says there is expected to be around eight students on the team, mostly consisting of seniors. Even though this can affect how many students will be on the team next year, Stout believes there are many positives to having a smaller team. “We’re going to be able to practice individually better because there won’t be so many girls taking our coaches’ attention from all who need to have that one on one with a coach,” Stout said. “I think that that’s how people improve the most, especially knowing your strengths and your weaknesses and what you want to strive for and what you want to work on.”
With the possibility of new students joining the sport, Tehan’s biggest hope is that they feel welcomed, due to her experience being new last year. “I didn’t really feel welcome or like I belonged last year,” Tehan said. “For these new people, I want to help make sure that they feel welcomed like they belong.”
The Swim and Dive season is eleven weeks long, and the team participates in eleven meets within that time frame. During the season, the team practices five days a week. Those practices include warmups activities that are applicable to the students strengths and skill level. At the beginning of the season, the coaches take time to see where all the students on the team are at. “The first week of actual practice is seeing where everybody’s at,” Tanner said. “If some people need a little bit more or a little bit less, our coach really works to help personalize each practice for all of the athletes, so everybody has the best chance to succeed.”
Tehan’s goals for this season include wanting to participate in more diving, while also improving and making new PRs. “I want to be able to do more, and do as much as I can as a senior,” Tehan said. “I just want to strive to be better. That doesn’t mean being better than everybody else, I just want to do as much as I can to make myself feel better, get new PRs and support my teammates.”
Tanner also has many goals for the upcoming season. She says she would love to put in her best effort and hopefully make at least one relay in state, or to just go to state in general. “I want to achieve that by putting all my effort into every single meet I do, every single practice, and just trying my best to go faster while also supporting my teammates,” Tanner said.
As a team, Tanner says there is a collective goal to do their best and ultimately see each other succeed. “I have made it to state as an alternate once,” Tanner said. “But every single year, getting to see those people achieve going to state is always wonderful, and you always want as many people as you can going to state.”
Lauren House (11) • Jan 8, 2026 at 9:53 pm
Hi Marisa! I really loved reading your article! I was on the swim team my freshman year and I enjoyed it. I agree with Mack, Sierra, and Krissy, the team has always been a very welcoming and connecting group of girls. One of my favorite memories from being on the team is that even though it is an individual sport the team still works together. You showcase this teamwork very well in your article, great job!