After Park pulled through with a win against Orono, junior Miles Rost said he was proud of the team pushing through the adversity they faced going into the meet. 

“I feel good. We were down 13 points because of diving, but we came back and won,” Rost said.

Coach Amanda Forsberg said the team loses points when the opponent has a diving team, something Park doesn’t have. According to Forsberg, this absence, along with the absence of senior captain Hiro McKee, made for a tough match Jan. 6. 

“I was really excited for the meet, we knew it was going to be really difficult to spot them 13 points for diving, which is like a goal in soccer,” Forsberg said. “We were also missing a senior captain, which is always really tough.”

According to senior captain Andre Barajas, McKee, his fellow captain, was out with COVID-19. Additionally, Barajas had just returned from his bout with the disease, causing turmoil within the team.

“We were a little nervous just because the other captain, Hiro, is out with COVID right now,” Barajas said. “I just came back from having COVID, so I went to like two practices before this meet, and everyone just coming out of winter break and getting back into school.”

Forsberg said that with the disadvantages the team was facing, they had to stay motivated and keep a positive mindset. 

“I told them, ‘we can get close but it’s gonna come down to you guys. You’re gonna have to want it more than they do,’” Forsberg said. 

According to Barajas, the younger swimmers putting in their maximum efforts was crucial during the meet. 

“We had a lot of underclassmen, and people that we had seeded like third and fourth in the events. They really stepped up, dropped some time and placed really well,” Barajas said.  

According to Forsberg, the underclassmen have been improving individually as the season has gone on, which has boosted the team. 

“A lot of the younger swimmers really stepped up,” Forsberg said. “A lot of them are still seeing drops (in time), we had safe starts, so they did what they needed to do.” 

Park will swim at 6 p.m. Jan. 13 against Robbinsdale Cooper at home.