Swim Banquet finishes off “Best Season in Manitou History”

Kieran Lynch, Swim Correspondent

This season of swim has been truly remarkable for the Lady ‘Stangs. The team performed better than ever before in Manitou girls’ swimming history.

This Thursday, February 18, the season came to it’s official end with the team banquet. The event consisted of food and a slideshow. Every year, there is a slideshow of the pictures taken during the season, and for the past four years Carrie Linhart (12) has put it together. By the end of the slideshow, the girls are all very emotional as the pictures made them reminisce about their memorable season.

Next came the awards. Many awards are given for things such as lettering, the “High Point Award,” or accomplishments at different meets. But the girls’ favorite awards by far are the “Paper Plate Awards.” These awards are awards drawn on paper plates by the girls for a variety of fun things. They consist of inside jokes and are often for things that don’t necessarily make sense outside of the swim world. Each girl receives a paper plate award that recognizes something individual about them.  

Something a little different this year was the “Not So Paper Plate Awards”. A few of the girls on the team made real plates for the coaches and managers. One of the “Not So Paper Plates” was the “Dumb and Dumber” award, which was given to the managers Austen Spieker (12) and Greg Shaw (12), who received it in the fun spirit it was intended.

The whole night was emotional and many had to stop themselves from crying when they said goodbye to the seniors. The seniors leaving this year are Emily Vann (12), Veronica Morin (12), Samantha White (12), Carrie Linhart (12), Greg Shaw (12), and Austin Spiecker (12). They will all be missed but the team plans to continue their streak of great swimming even with the loss of these amazing swimmers.