Edina Girls’ Swim and Dive has consistently set the bar higher every year at the Minnesota State High School League state meet. With a second-place medal in 2021 and a first-place finish in 2022, the team finished the 2023 season with another state championship title. However, the road to success did not come easily as the team was faced with the challenge of losing 10 strong seniors last season.
“We were not really expecting to win state because last season many of our seniors graduated so a lot of strong people from our team last year weren’t there anymore,” junior diver Zara Karimi said. Yet, many underclassmen were allowed to step up and take leadership of the team’s path to a state championship. “I’m one of the older underclassmen, so I had to be a leader for the younger underclassmen especially because there were only a couple of seniors this season,” sophomore swimmer Libby Mccarthy said.
Many seniors also felt that the disciplined work ethic of the younger classes helped the team achieve their end goal. “I think [underclassmen] got to learn a different team atmosphere and intensity that we have towards the end of the season. It was really fun to see how it motivated them to do better towards the end because it’s a lot different than the regular season,” senior captain Eleanor Hughes said.
Motivation and hard work became key to the Hornets’ ability to persevere through adversity during the season. “At the beginning of the season, I was out with an injury and a lot of the team’s swimmers had shoulder problems,” Karimi said. From recurring injuries to intense practices, the team kept improving. “It’s always hard in the middle of the season. We always have pretty hard practices and meets are not every week,” Hughes said.
However, the Hornets’ work ethic and extreme focus ultimately led them to a victory against their biggest rival, Minnetonka. By centering the team’s attention on state week and keeping their eye on the prize, the Hornets were able to conserve their energy and beat Minnetonka when it mattered. “Tonka focuses a lot on in-season meets, whereas we focus on only the end goals throughout our season. We put all of our preparation into the state meet and the state meets only, so we had our mind set on that,” Hughes said.
With another state championship title, Edina Girls’ Swim and Dive hopes to continue their success throughout the years. The feeling of victory will continue to last with the underclassmen, motivating the team for future seasons. “My first [state championship] win was last year in ninth grade. With this year’s win, I hope to motivate the younger underclassmen for upcoming years because I know they’ll want that same exact feeling of winning,” McCarthy said.
