North’s Women Swimming Team Ends Season, Looks Towards Future
On Feb. 15 and 16, Parkway North’s Women’s Swimming Team brought their season to an end at the State Championships at the Rec Plex in St. Peters where the team placed 17 overall.
“My goal was to be in the top 15, but 17 was still really good. I feel that we still met the goal. On top of that, the 3-time 100 Fly defending Champion [senior] Heather Lundstrom broke the State record in the 500 Freestyle,” said coach Bart Prosser.
With Lundstrom’s high school swimming career coming to a close, many look towards the future of the Women’s Swimming team, and wonder how it will fair in the future.
“Heather is leaving a big shoe to fill, but the team has a great core of swimmers who will carry the team,” said Prosser.
Heather wasn’t the only senior to bring their high school career to an end. Senior Taylor Vinson also brought her high school career to an end.
“It was the best way to end my High School Swimming career. The team did overall pretty good, and I’m also excited for Heather for getting another State title; I knew she could,” said Vinson.
With Lundstrom ending her career, Prosser thinks that freshman Carlie Manczuk and sophomore Julia Saunders are great prospects for the team.
“Carlie almost qualified for State in the 100 Breaststroke, and ranked 11th at State in the 200 Medley Relay,” said Prosser.
Manczuk was one of few freshmen to compete at State. Despite not qualifying for State in an individual event, Manczuk did make it with the school’s 200 Medley Relay team, consisting of Lundstrom, junior Katherine Doering, and Saunders.
“It was really fun to compete at State as a freshman. The group of girls were so welcoming and very fun to swim with. It was an honor to swim with Heather in the relay,” said Manczuk.
With the 2013 Swim season over, Manczuk and the team look forward to next year’s season.
“My goal is to make it to finals with our 200 Medley Relay, and to make it back individually for the 100 Breast and the 200 IM. My goal is also to keep the team close like this year, even with the seniors leaving,” said Manczuk.
With record holding swimmers like Lundstrom leaving, and the team starting all over again next year, many hope that next year will go just as strong. Nothing is for certain, but with up and coming swimmers like Manczuk and Saunders, next swim season is looking bright.
Written by Zack Becker — Staff Writer