The MSMS Blue Waves Swim Team traveled to the Tupelo Aquatic Center on September 26 to compete in their first meet of the year, the 2017 Tupelo High School Meet. They are currently coached by Coach Chris Chain, new to MSMS.

Victoria Gong, a junior member of the team, is optimistic about the season. “We did pretty well considering it was our first meet and not having a coach for the first week of practice. There’s definitely more room to improve but it’s a great start,” Gong explained.

Junior Sara Sheward placed first in the girls’ 100-meter breaststroke and second in the 100-yard butterfly. She describes her experiences in the moments before her race. “Before both of my races, I was a little nervous. In both events, I really wanted my hard work to show and I’m glad it did,” Sheward stated.

Sheward is a veteran swimmer, having been previously on a private school team for three years and a public team for almost ten years. MSMS provides a different environment for swimming, and Sheward addresses this. “Compared to me to the swim team at my old school, the MSMS swim team is a lot more dedicated. My old school usually held practices once a week, but hardly anyone would show up until the practice before the meet. It’s nice to be with people who share my enthusiasm for the sport!”

“A lot of us qualified for North Half this meet. The facility in Tupelo is nice and has space for a lot of swimmers,” said boys’ team captain Beckett Voges-Haupt. Voges-Haupt placed 16th in the boys’ 50 and 100 freestyle.

North Half is the next meet on the swim team’s agenda.  “ [In preparation] I will continue what I’ve been doing and practice with the MSMS swim team,” Sheward stated. If the swimmers do well there, they will advance to the state level competition.