Icing their injuries. Helping others ice their injuries. Sighing about the upcoming meet.
Just before their meet against Naugatuck High School, this is how the Woodland Girls Swim team occupied their time. Their expectations of the meet were bleak: they had not beaten Naugatuck in years, and several valuable teammates were out, weakened by various injuries.
In typical Hawk fashion, the girls still came out with a cheer and smiles on their faces- and it was clear that, despite the odds being stacks against them, they were still going to try their hardest. And try they did.
Woodland won the first two events. The strong team of Sarah Bryden, Lisa Thrasher, Kyla Drewry, and Brooke Pope came out of the 200 Yard Medley Relay victorious. Tatianna Lynn, a junior, swam a 2:17.09 and won the 200 Yard Free
Naugatuck came back and won the next two events, the 200 Yard IM and the 50 Yard Free. The meet was extremely close when it was time for the diving portion of the meet- putting a high amount of pressure on the divers.
The divers proved to work well under pressure. Lisa Thrasher, Lexie Byczko, and Maddie Hoxie all did an exceptional job. Thrasher won the diving portion with a final score of 181.75. This win energized the team, and set the tone for the remainder of the meet.
Kyla Drewry maintained Woodland’s winning streak when she swam a 1:14.10 for the 100 Yard Fly.
Sarah Bryden, captain, won the 100 Yard Free with a 1:01.29. Unusually enough, a swimmer from Naugy, Cara Rotatori swam the same exact time- meaning the event was a tie.
Lisa Thrasher, Kyla Drewry, Veronica Dergachev, and Tatianna Lynn worked cohesively to win the 200 Yard Free Relay.
Sarah Bryden won the 100 Yard Back (making three the impressive total number of events she played a part in winning for Woodland) , the team began hushed whispers, almost positive the victory would be theirs.
In the end, the victory did belong to Woodland. The team rose above the various obstacles in their way and did something the team had not done in years: beat Naugy.
When questioned about his hopes for the upcoming season, Coach Mike Magas said, “I just want to see them continue to work hard and improve every meet, and eventually reach their peak at NVLS.”
Tina is the Executive Social Media Director, and in charge of managing Hawk Headlines. She has spent three full semesters here, and is heavily involved with theater. Tina describes herself as a "pop culture aficionado".
