Swimming for WYO

“My legs hurt … I’m hungry … It’s too early in the morning,” are the words most frequently said or thought of at a typical morning swim practice. There’s nothing like getting up at before 7 a.m. in the summer to crank out a few thousand yards at the pool. 
“Why am I even here?” has been asked a countless number of times by any swimmer you’ll ever meet. Yet we show up to practice every day, every week, and every year … after year … after year. 
Why? That’s not an easy question to answer – maybe it’s because we don’t know. But one thing’s for sure, despite how much I sometimes hate the sport, I love it too much to quit. 
Last year, I had the opportunity to go to the Western Zone Championships in Clovis, California. I had a lot of fun, and it was awesome to compete with some of the fastest swimmers on the west side of the states. I met a lot of new people that I still keep in touch with. 
This year, I went to zones again, and it was a blast! Being at sea level and in the competitive atmosphere isn’t something that happens too often in Wyoming, so it was a great experience and privilege. I’m grateful that God gave me the opportunity to go and swim my best for him. While I didn’t place very high – my highest rank being 47th – I was able to improve on my times more than I expected, which makes me really excited for high school season this year. 
Because Wyoming is so small, instead of competing with our own individual club teams, we form one all-star team in California. It was a great way to meet new people because swimmers that I was formerly competing against were now my teammates. 
Running around at the mall, playing rock-paper-scissors (the swimming version), making daily Jamba Juice runs, eating at Chick-fil-A, and just hanging out in the hotel lobby were all things we did in the week that made it fun. 
I formed some really great friendships while I was there and being at zones reminded me of why I swim. Cutting-off time or qualifying in different events topped off with racing next to great friends make the lung-burning-leg-killing-arm-dying practices all worth it. 
Coming home, I was on the same flight as three of the other swimmers, so we did some seat switching so we could sit by each other. All the way from Fresno to Denver, Katie and I pigged out on goldfish and Cheez-Its, while watching “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.” It definitely made the goodbyes really hard. 
But now I have high school season to look forward to and can meet up with the rest of the zone team again. One of the swimmers joked and said that Wyoming swim meets are like a big family reunion. 
So always remember …
“When life gets you down, do you wanna know what you’ve gotta do? Just keep swimming.”