The Varsity Girls Swim Team finished with a total of 47 points, in the Regional Swim Meet on Feb. 2-3.

“It was really exciting watching the team compete,” Head Coach Amy Lamar said. “I knew we had two girls with a great chance to make the finals and have a chance at state.”

The first day of competition consisted of prelims to see who qualified for the A (top eight times or B (the next fastest eight times) final. Only racers in the A final have a chance to qualify for the state meet.

“It’s extremely hard to make it to Austin for the big (state) meet,” Lamar said. “You have to dedicate yourself all year round if you want a chance to reach that level of competition. Only the top two advance.”

Although none of the relays moved on to finals in Austin on Feb. 16, two sophomores qualified in their individual events. Sophia Turco qualified for 200 and 500 yards freestyle in the A final; while Valaree Wright qualified in the 50 yard freestyle in the B final.

“I’m so proud of both these girls for competing hard all season long,” Lamar said. “I know it can get hard but after seeing their perseverance through the season, I know they would swim their best.”

Turco placed third in the 200 yard A final, one position away from going to state.

“I was just trying to finish strong and get a good time,” she said. “Once I saw how fast I swam in the race, I knew would swim good in the 500-yard final.”

After the 200 yard final, Wright was up next in the 50 yard freestyle B final.

“I was worried I wouldn’t swim good in the meet,” she said, “Seeing my friend qualify for state gave me motivation to try my best,”

Although she finished in tenth place in the regional meet, Wright said the season was still a success considering the knee injury she battled with during the competition.

“In December, I had to check into the emergency room because of my injury,” she said. “I wasn’t able to walk because of the extreme swelling in my knees. I was projected to win the regional meet and qualify for state before the injury but I’m glad I still was able to compete.”

On the last race of the day, Turco swam in her 500 yard final.

“I was super scared before the race,” she said. “My friend at Legacy is so fast and I knew should would be the difference from placing top two and advancing or finishing third and staying home.”

She finished second overall and will move onto state.

“I’m really excited to race in Austin and see how good I can do,” Turco said. “If you would have asked me before the season, I would’ve never said I would actually make it.”