Wildcat Swim Team is Bound for State

Wildcat Swim Team have been putting in much effort and it is paying off. They had 11 of the teammates qualify for the State Meet that begins Friday.

Coach Hesther Harris had many good things to say about her squad, “We had a very successful regional meet. We had 11 people qualify for State. The girls state qualifiers are, Tayler Bennett, Mackenzie Crowder, Hailey Lorett, Rylee Strah, Taylor Phillips, and Simone Villarruel. The boys state qualifiers are, Tate Burdick, Caden Case, Max Engster, Tanner Estes and Michael Mayer.
The Boys team had an impressive meet. Tate Burdick got 2nd in the 50 and 100 free and both of those races came down to two one- hundredths of a second. Caden Case got 8th in the 50 free and Max Engster got 12th in the 50 free. The boys 200 Free relay who took 2nd in our region consisted of Tate Burdick, Caden Case, Max Engster, and Haydan Jones. This relay is in 3rd place going into the State Meet. The boys 400 free relay is going into the State Meet at 5th place.

The Girls team also had an impressive meet. Simone Villarruel place 5th in her 50 Free and 10th in the 100
Back. Rylee Strah placed 13th in the 50 Free and Taylor Phillips 16th in the 50 Free. Taylor Bennett placed 16th in the 500 and 15th in the 200 Free. Both relays for the girls are in to top 12 going into the State Meet.

This is our second season being in 6A. For the last decade, we have been competing at the 5A State Meet. Our first season in 6A was rough. We only had one swimmer swimming individuals and only relays qualified.
I think that when we finished our season last year, many of them realized how much work they needed to put in to qualify for the 6A State Meet. They really had a spectacular season, their hard work paid off, and we are going into the state meet better than we have looked in a very long time. I am in my 4th year as a head coach and this was the best regional meet I have seen my swimmers swim. I think our program is finally going in the right direction and good things are going to happen for years to come.
The State meet will be held at Jenks Aquatic Center Feb. 21st and 22nd. The meet starts at 5:00 both days.”

Team photo by Kandi Bennett