DPS League Champion Caitlin Beery dominates the competition. photo by Christy Jordan
TJ makes a big splash at the State Swim and Dive Championships.
The Thomas Jefferson Girls’ Swim and Dive team finished an extremely successful season, with a third place finish at the DPS League Championship meet in early February. TJ had sixteen swimmers and four divers at the DPS League Meet, and the team amassed 216 total team points. This is remarkable for a small team, competing against 5A and 4A teams with three times the number of participants. Numerous swimmers and divers had personal best times at this meet, and all celebrated their great scores throughout the two-day event at Manual High School. Their accomplishments were well deserved, due to the long hours of practice, endless dedication, team spirit, and fabulous fundraising efforts this season.
Freshman Caitlin Beery was the DPS League Champion in two events. All three TJ relay teams made finals, with the dynamic foursome of sophomores Beery, Megan George, Morgan George, and Phoebe Briney, capturing third place in the 200 Individual Medley Relay and second place in the 200 Freestyle Relay. The other relay team to make finals was made up of three senior captains Camy Guenther, Sophia Ward, and Molly Jordan Little, as well as sophomore Hanna Channell, who also placed third in the Women’s 400 Relay. Seniors Leo Busse and Lauren Pulver swam for their last times in high school in relays.
TJ’s 1-meter dive, led by Little, contributed to TJ’s overall point count, placing fourth in DPS, with a career high of 370.45 points. All four TJ divers received points for the team, with Channell placing eighth, freshman Holly Fewell placing ninth, and senior Cecelia Allen placing 12th. Another high note for TJ was Busse receiving the Jim Hartman Outstanding Student Athlete award for her many academic and leadership accomplishments, including her medical internships and her teamwork skills as a captain. She was presented a large plaque during the second day of the league meet. Busse explained, “I loved every aspect of swimming and my team really made it count this year.”
TJ’s Girls’ Swim and Dive Team placed all across the leaderboard at the state meet, including Channell making the semi-finals in diving. As far as swimming goes, Beery placed third in the 200 IM and fifth in the 500 Free, Megan George placed 15th in the 100 Fly, Morgan George placed in the finals for the 50 Free, and Briney placed 11th in the 50 Free and 13th in the 100 Free. TJ diving state qualifiers included Little and Channell; Little posted the highest degree of difficulty (DD) in the entire meet and made diving finals, placing 15th overall. The seniors are leaving a legacy and tradition of good sportsmanship, hard work, and a great sense of fun and comradery. The future is very bright for TJ with this vastly talented group of underclassmen stepping into leadership positions.
