Winning ways return versus Wildcats
Boys’ swimming is back in the win column
February 10, 2023
In their final meet before sections, Park boys’ swimming pulled out a 52-42 victory against Waconia Feb. 9 in a meet that was neck-and-neck until the final race. Junior Daniel Cameron said with the recent defeat to Benilde-St. Margaret’s, the team’s mindset quickly shifted solely to the improvement of their performance.
“Unlike the last meet, the mood was very different for everyone this time,” Cameron said. “Even if we were gonna lose, we were gonna do a lot better at this meet and we were much more determined.”
Head coach Amanda Forseberg said the unexpected loss a week earlier served as extra motivation for the swimmers participating in the most recent meet.
“This team isn’t used to losing,” Forseberg said. “We came into the meet down, but we pulled ahead with some phenomenal swimming.”
Senior captain Miles Nordling said a key part of Park’s victory was the fact that the meet was at home, as home meets can serve as a boost to the mental side of the sport.
“I was really excited to have one more home meet,” Nordling said. “Being back in our own pool does wonders for the team’s mentality, so I had really high expectations going into the meet.”
Forseberg said she did not foresee some of the highlights of the team’s performance.
“We swam really well,” Forseberg said. “We had some of the younger swimmers step up and we won some events that I didn’t think we were going to win.”
According to Nordling, the swimmers felt that the last regular season meet needed to be a win in which the whole team contributed to the victory.
“We wanted to have one more meet where the whole team swam really well and came together and performed as a team,” Nordling said. “That’s exactly what we did today.”
According to Cameron, because this was the last home meet for seniors, losing was not an option.
“We really wanted to have a final victory at home, especially for the seniors,” Cameron said. “We didn’t want to lose here twice in a year.”
Nordling said he has high hopes for Park in sections this year as he believes that the best of the team will come out at just the right time.
“I have really high expectations for this team,” Nordling said. “This team has a really great attitude and mentality and we’re gonna see that shine at sections this year.”
Park plans to carry the winning energy into sections at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 at Art Downey Aquatic Center.
