On Wednesday, Jan. 27, Northwood’s Varsity Swim Team traveled to the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary, NC to compete in the Big 8 Conference Meet. The men finished fifth overall and the women finished third overall. Junior Mia Corrado tied for the most individual points scored for women’s swimming, which makes her one of the Big 8 Conference Women’s Swimmers of the Year.
Corrado placed first in two individual events and two relays.
“Winning is a great feeling,” Corrado said. “It definitely makes you feel like all of the hard work you have put in is paying off. It’s an exciting experience to get to race and try to touch the wall first.”
Corrado is joined by junior Julia Earnshaw, senior Suzanne Earnshaw and junior Gwen Hoeg in qualifying for All Conference. Swimmers make All Conference if they place in the top two in any event, individual or relay. The group of four won the Women’s 200 Yard Medley Relay and the Women’s 400 Freestyle Relay, along with various individual wins.
“I enjoy swimming with my teammates so much. The best part is the relays!” Suzanne Earnshaw said. “We are swimming as a team and it is so much fun to accomplish a win with 3 other girls and see all of them succeed too! Going into Regionals on Saturday I am making sure I continue to stay calm and confident in myself. I trust in my training and where I am. We also remember who we are as a team and our strength all together!”
Last Saturday, February 6th, Corrado, Hoeg, Julia Earnshaw and Suzanne Earnshaw, Lauren Emrich, Katie Foye, Aby Motteler, Bianca Perez and Maya Sipper moved onto the Central 3A Regional meet. After meeting the minimum time requirements, these swimmers had to place within the top 12 times in their events.
“I’m glad that everyone who qualified for Regionals will get a chance to race again and improve their times,” Amanda Peele, head coach and Northwood alumnus, said. “There will be a lot of fast swimmers at Regionals so it should be an exciting challenge! To qualify for the State Championships, swimmers must place in the top 3 in their individual and/or relay events at Regionals. Several of our swimmers and relay teams are seeded in the top 3, so I think they have a good chance of moving on to States… Both of those relays are currently seeded as the fastest in those events, so I hope they’ll be able to hold on to that top spot!”
The season started in late November, and closes out with the 3A State Championship on Feb. 11.
Coach Peele reflected on the year, saying “It was incredible to watch everyone improve throughout the season. I had a lot of fun coaching these swimmers and I’m very proud of them. I hope they had a good time this season and that next year they’ll have even more opportunities to improve, compete, and have fun! Until then, I wish all the swimmers competing in Regionals and States the best of luck.”
Photographs by Erin Hoeg. Provided by Amanda Peele.
