CC swimmers notch personal bests at Regions

REGIONAL SWIMMING

CC swimmers notch personal bests at Regions

Comets ‘supported each other all afternoon,’ coach says

FORT DODGE — Heading into the regional swimming meet on Saturday, Comet swimmers knew it would be the last of the season.

Head coach Amy Johnson said the girls handled the final meet of the season very well, noting that it is unusual to earn personal bests at the regional meet.

“They supported each other all afternoon,” Johnson said. “We had (personal records) all day, which is rare because of the competition you’re going up against at theese bigger meets.”

Although the Comets rarely found themselves with podium finishes or team champions, Johnson said their success wasn’t measured by the overall standings of where the Comets fell at the end of a meet.

Individual success, rather, brought her team closer and closer throughout the year.

“Even on the van on the way there; the laughing, the jokes and giggling,” Johnson said. “They’ve come really close.”

Each swimmer found herself with some sort of personal accomplishment this season. And the biggest success of all for the Comets was the team chemistry that those individual successs fostered.

“As a team, they’ve come a long way. There was a lot of support, hugs, all day long,” Johnson said. “It’s easy to get down and negative when you’re not going to place well against these big teams. But that didn’t happen.”

By Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com