Girls swim competes in State Championship

Noah Sentnor, Side Dish Czar|February 23, 2022

Four athletes represented North High at the State swim meet on Feb. 17 and 18. Orr said the atmosphere was electric. “State is intense. Before each event, the athletes walk out of the locker room and all their names are announced. Then, it gets dead silent for the start, but as soon as the horn goes off, it gets super loud every time without fail,” said Orr.

On Feb. 17 and 18, the North girls swim team competed against the top swimmers in Missouri. Although the girls did not bring home any medals, their coach, Bart Prosser, is still incredibly proud of his team.
“Any coach that coaches at North is proud of their athletes no matter what level they perform at. I know the dedication, hard work and commitment that they had for this program this season, and it makes me proud to call myself their coach,” said Prosser.
Prosser does everything he can to help his girls compete at a high level while still having fun. For years, he has worn an unusual outfit for the State Competition.
“It started as a joke a long time ago. I used to wear Hawaiian shirts when I coached, but as those faded out, I tried to do something funny and creative. So, for Prelims I have a pair of purple and plaid shorts that I wear, and if we make the finals I pull out the purple pants,” said Prosser.

Bart Prosser, wearing his infamous purple pants.

This season, junior Taryn Will competed in the 200 meter individual medley (IM) and the 100 meter butterfly and senior Peyton Orr swam the 100 meter backstroke. Will and Orr were joined by freshman Athena DeKinder and sophomore Caitlin Schuerman in the 400 meter freestyle relay as well.
Will was the only swimmer to make it past the Prelims, the first day of the State meet, and move onto the final day. Only the top 16 competitors move on to the final round, so it was a very meaningful experience for her.
“I was so proud to represent North, especially because we have a smaller team and we’re a little less storied than some of the other Parkway swim teams,” said Will.
Going into Prelims, the North girls’ relay was seeded 32nd, dead last in the heat, and Orr was seeded 28th. By the end of Prelims, Orr placed 24th and the relay team placed 21th, cutting 4.81 seconds off their State qualifying time. But Will’s work was far from over.
“I was super grateful to have the chance to swim at the State finals. It was also super validating to know that all of the hard work I’ve put into this sport was paying off,” said Will.
Will was seeded ninth in both her 200 IM and her 100 fly going into the final day. At the end of the day, she placed 11th in the 200 IM and 12th in the 100 fly, missing a medal by less than a half a second.
Overall, the team is happy with their performance. With a lot of young swimmers still maturing, Orr is excited to see how they do in the coming years.
“I love my teammates. They are amazing, and I am so proud of everything that they did this season. For the underclassmen, I’m really excited to see what they do in the future. I have big dreams for them,” said Orr.