“The state atmosphere is unlike any swim meet. The stands are packed full with fans yelling louder as the meet goes on. The events are full of swimmers that are the best of the best in the state that aren’t there to lose,” Cade Schoenauer, jr., said.

Nine Cougars and head coach Shawn Thomsen went to the Marshalltown YMCA to compete for Kennedy on Feb. 13. It was a wildly successful trip as the Cougars finished 11th out of 34 teams resulting in three school records being broken.

“I would say our team expectation was 15th but we had some fantastic swims, with time drops in every heat,” Thomsen said.

“I felt really pumped up and could feel the adrenaline before races,” Brady Gibson, sr., said. Gibson has been swimming since he was nine but will not continue in college. “My favorite swimming memory is podiuming for the 200 medley relay. It was with two other seniors and Cade and was a great feeling after all of the work I put in.”

“Training for state is not just an in season commitment but an out of season one also. Putting in two a days practices all summer long leading up to high school season on top of training lessons is what you have to do if you want to do the best when the state meet comes around,” Schoenauer said.

Clark Montover, jr., has been on varsity all three years at his swimming career but this was his first year competing at state. “It was pretty energetic and there were a lot of people packed in the stands and it was really loud,” Montover said. “I felt anxious but ready to get in and go all out.”

Schonauer’s favorite memory is also the 200 medley relay. “It was with three other seniors and myself. This was their last state meet of their high school career and we all were highly motivated to do our best. After finishing our race we all yelled and hugged each other when we saw we paced 6th in the state and broke our school record. Sharing that moment with that great group of guys was my favorite moment.”