After almost a month of practice, the swim team put their muscles to the test at their first meet Monday, November 19. OHS took first place, leaving Cedar Ridge High School in second and Northern Durham in third.
Unfortunately, Cardinal Gibbons swam for gold and pulled ahead on November 28. The Lady Panthers came in second, coming in before Northern Vance. The guys ended on an even note with a tied score of one hundred and twenty one points.
We took home silver again on December 6th after swimming against Chapel Hill High School, a big competition for the team.
December 13, our Panthers paddled it out against Southern Vance at the Aycock Recreation Center. This was the fourth swim meet of the season.
The exact scores haven't been released yet but senior team member Taylor Kennedy said, “We pretty much crushed them.”
Northern Vance didn't have many swimmers to fill a lot of the events.
Friday, December 7, all the swimmers met at the Hillsborough Walmart after school to buy toys for the Angle Tree. The Angel Tree, for those who don’t know, is the only national ministry that reaches out to children of incarcerated parents. Each swimmer was asked to donate at least five dollars to the organization. The whole team was happily cooperative with the fundraiser and excited to spread some holiday joy to the community from Orange High School.
Every single team member expressed their love for being on the team and described it as being part of “one big family.”
When asked how getting up for practice at 6:15 am every week day morning was going, one swimmer in particular said that at least twenty five panthers are at the Triangle Sports Plex every morning, prepared and ready to practice. She goes on to say that, “the early practices are not as bad as they may seem and whether or not it is a hassle is a varied opinion.”
The State meets will be held at the end of the season in early February. These locations are still to be announced.
Written by Aly Cavedo
“Swimmers, take your mark,” and the buzzer sounds!
Out of the five winter sports offered at OHS, swimming is one of the less popular ones that not many students know about. Practice started on October, 31.
English teacher, Mark Alford and his lovely wife, Paula, are the head of the swim team. Mr. and Mrs. Alford take great pride in their sport and describe coaching swim as a passion. Practice is held at the Triangle SportsPlex every weekday morning, Mon-Fri, from 6:15 am until 7:30am. To many high school students, waking up even a minute before their daily routine starts is a challenge, but the OHS swimmers are dedicated to their sport! Let me stress making sure you're there bright and early at 6:15am! Being just a minute late could cost you push-up time! Along with technique and perseverance, Mr. and Mrs. Alford want to enforce the importance of commitment.
Many students are afraid of joining the swim team solely because they do not want to wake up early. For those of you who have difficulty getting out of bed in the morning, what's a better way to get your body moving than diving into cool, refreshing water? It is important to get your blood pumping, especially in the winter when it's easy to forget about exercise because of the cold weather. Some students I have talked with have said the early wake up and extensive workout will make them too tired to enjoy their school day. Studies show that getting a head start to your morning, actually increases happiness and confidence throughout the day! Think about it this way; you'll have much more time after school for family and friends. The mall and movie theater aren't open at 7am, but they will be in the evenings when you have free time!
Another conflict students face when deciding if they want to participate on the swim team is that they feel they won't have nearly as much experience as the other swimmers. Mr. and Mrs. Alford know that a lot of students that are interested in joining have not been on a swim team before, but that's what coaches are for! Their main goal is to teach.
Sports teams are made to bring students with a passion for the sport and exercise, together. Mr. and Mrs. Alford stand with open arms, ready to pass on what they know about swimming to the team members. So give it a chance! As Dr. Seuss would say; “If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good!”