The Saint John Paul the Great Catholic High School swim and dive teams are reaping the rewards of perseverance and dedication as they look forward to states.
Senior Swimmer Gianna Davis is setting the tone for the team, according to swim coach Joseph Costello.
“Gianna’s example and dedication have been impressive to her teammates,” Costello said. He believes she has the potential to perform at the collegiate level and that her attitude is crucial to her success.
At the recent National Catholic Meet, Davis came second in the 50 free and third in the 100 free. Her relay teammates senior Maeve Williams, junior Isabella Koler and sophomore Isa Willis also made finals in the 200 free relay and the 4×100 free relay and qualified for states. In addition, junior Eric Koler, who made the finals in the 100-breast with a time of 58.6 seconds, already qualified for states along with swimmers Izzy Frederick, Emily Mills, Amy Voith and Alice Angarag. The students’ performance is “fantastic,” said Costello. “They all swam well, which is impressive, considering they had two weeks off for winter break and snow days.”
The young dive team is keeping up with the school’s veteran swim team. Only two years young, the dive team has made great strides forward and achieved remarkable results in a short time. Freshman Emily Mills and sophomore Teagen Rauschelbach recently competed in the Cardinal Classic Invitational, an invitational meet that includes many of the local public high schools in the county and some from other parts of the state. It is a great opportunity early in the season for the divers to participate in a championship meet format. To participate, divers must be able to perform 11 dives from all five different categories of dives, rather than just six dives in a regular meet format. Rauschelbach placed third in the meet, and Mills placed tenth. By successfully completing all 11 dives and scoring at least 200 points, they qualified to compete at the VISAA State Championship meet.
“We are incredibly proud of our team’s dedication and hard work in overcoming the challenges faced by a young team. Successfully completing an 11-dive list and earning a state qualifying score so early in the season is a significant achievement for our divers,” said dive coach Katherine Mills.
The team is small with three students. Rauschelbach, who made the jump to diving from swim in 2020, was the first diver for John Paul. Last year, she represented the school at the VISAA State meet and made the finals. Mills has qualified for VISAA states in both swimming and dive this year. “She is truly an athlete,” Rauschelbach said, adding that she is the “future” of the team.
Rounding out the team is junior Sanda Kay, who swam for John Paul her freshman and sophomore years before switching to dive. Kay is growing into her diving, according to coach Rauschelbach and has become an “asset to the team. We are excited to watch her grow.”
Costello expressed his pride in both teams: “I’m ecstatic to help grow the achievements and mission of the school in the sport of swimming and now diving.”
