The Brighton girls swim and dive team ended with a record of 7-1. While most swimmers ended their season at the KLAA meet, a select few kept going until the MHSAA Division 1 state meet in Holland, Michigan, from November 20-21.
The state team consisted of Katie Gray (9), Natalie Mazur (9), Elizabeth Walters-Ricketts (9), Maisie Potts (10), Lily Storey (11), Ava Sventickas (11), Grace Gray (12) and Millie Hayosh (12).
Though several girls qualified for individual events, Grace Gray was the only one who returned to the finals. She had a goal to make it back in both of her events.
“This state meet had much higher stakes than the last three. The pressure was definitely there. I had big expectations, and reaching my goals was definitely not guaranteed,” she said.
Not only did she accomplish this goal, but she ended up placing 3rd in the 200-yard freestyle and 5th in the 100-yard butterfly, securing her All-State status.
Two of Brighton’s relays ended up making it back as well. Brighton placed 12th in the 200-yard freestyle relay with swimmers Grace Gray, Katie Gray, Mazur and Sventickas. Brighton also placed 12th in their 400-yard freestyle relay with swimmers Walters-Ricketts, Hayosh, Sventickas and Grace Gray.
There is nothing better than the rush of a state cut. After Maisie Potts made her 200-yard freestyle cut, she said, “I felt really accomplished and proud of myself that I had made the cut. It felt like all my hard work had paid off, and I could finally see how far I had come from the beginning of the season.”
However, competing isn’t everything. Swimming is a stressful sport in general with the constant noise, the pressure of competing, and the desire to not let one’s team down. However, both Sventickas and Mazur agree that team bonding helped them keep stress low and allowed them to get to know their teammates better. Sventickas said that her favorite parts of the season were the “Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden dinners because they were a great bonding experience for me, and I was able to catch up with people that I’m not always able to talk to due to lane assignments. I also just love food.”
The Brighton Girls Swim and Dive had a successful season with an almost undefeated record and many wins in and out of the pool.
