by Chloe Pieper–The Morningside Swim Team toasted the season and said goodbye to seniors at a banquet held April 24.
Coach Bryan Farris honored the seniors and recognized the hard work the seniors put in for the last four years. The seniors gave speeches as they received their award.
Maureen “Mo” Voller started tearing up while saying, “I said it once and I’ll say it yet again, I love Morningside Swimming with my entire heart. I am beyond grateful for this team and to be a part of something so special for the past four years.”
Mo was honored with the new Mustang Achievement Award for supporting everyone during the meets no matter the outcome of their results. She added, “Being a captain and the team mom for everyone has been one of a kind.”
An achievement a swimmer could get is to be the team captain. This is an honor because it shows that they have the leadership skills in and out of the pool. The men’s team captains are James Spicer, JR Albers, and Matt Hanner. The women’s team captains are Emma Larsen, Makenna Laher, and Haylie Folsom. These people will be the leaders heading into the next swim season.
Other awards were given out to one female and one male on the team. The Most Improved award was given to Payton Miller and Moses Dunbar. The Spirit Award went to Maureen Voller and Trey Kluender. They were always cheering on the team and being the shoulder to cry on if a swimmer did not do their best at a meet.
The Workhorse Award was granted to Megan Keller and James Spicer. They put in the most effort to cut times and worked hard to be a better swimmer. Tessa Renze and JR Albers received the Mustang Award. These two showed why Morningside is the best side in and out of the pool with their dedication in their education.
The Newcomer of the Year Award was presented to Josie Dike and Joe Ciriaco. Lastly, the Swimmer of the Year award was granted to Rachel Roose and Willy Pinnow. These two had a great season at the KCAC tournament where they broke the school’s records. Rachel broke the record in the 50 yard freestyle and Willy broke the record in the 500 yard freestyle.
A tradition that the swim team does is a paper plate award. These awards are inside jokes that are written on paper plates given to the underclassmen. Freshman Jayden Steffen got the Chameleon Award. Jayden changed her hair color three times during the swim season. Jayden comments, “I went from a dark brown to dark brownish purple then I chopped my hair and dyed it a bright red color. I also tried to go blonde but that did not last long.”
Although they did not get to go to the National Championship meet because it was cancelled, Coach Farris believes this was one of the best seasons the team has had. He feels confident that next season will be just as good.
Wish there was more mentions of the swim teams other achievements in this article
Good article!
Thanks for fixing the names, still sad you haven’t helped the rest of the article by adding other achievements that were made throughout the year that were the major part of the banquet.
Also where is the congratulations for the seniors that finished this year and their names. Or maybe even mentioning the work of the captains this year instead of just making it seem like the new captains were the captains.
I hope you can improve greatly on this in this article or even future articles you write. If you can’t I’d look for a different hobby or career.
Thanks for the whole paragraph about hair color in an article about swimming.
It would have been nice if that space was also used for congratulating swimmers who have actually gotten achievements both academically and in the pool.
It is also suggested that you take an English class so that you can work on your grammar.
Please spell people’s names correctly, or at least get it close. There is a roster available online….
There is also no mention of All-Americans, Academic achievements, or other records broken.
Wow no mention of anyone else in the whole thing, no all Americans, academic awards or other achievements but there is the mention of inside jokes such as paper awards.
Why can’t you even spell the names correctly when there is access to the names on the Morningside website.