As most students lay sound asleep in their beds, this past Saturday, January 12, members of the Academy girls’ swim team shined when up against the state’s best at the 7th annual Northeast Classic Invitational in Canton. With close to 80 teams racing in the meet, the Vikes put up a valiant effort, showing many individual strides despite the tough competition.

Senior captain, Abby Brown, and sophomore star, Abby Wilson, led the team, coming fifth in the 100 fly and third in the 200 IM, respectively. The two not only contributed on a personal front but also combined forces with India Sherman ’14 and Anya Kone ’15 to help the medley relay deliver a fourth-place finish. 

Other impressive performances include Brown’s 10th place in the 100 breaststroke, Wilson’s 8th in the 100 backstroke, and the 200 freestyle relay’s finish in 10th.

“We have one of the strongest girls’ teams that I think Academy has ever had, and I am sure that we will have improvement coming into post season. We’ve definitely set high expectations for our swimming, but also for our teamwork,” Sherman says, discussing the team dynamic. “We have a strong, close group of girls and we are going to come together and do amazing things.”

Indeed, this year’s girls’ swim team has the potential to go down in history come post-season. But one thing is for certain: this group of athletes has already caused eyes to turn.

This Friday, January 18, starting at 4:30, Academy faces off at home against Gahanna Lincoln, and at 11:00 the following morning, the team competes again in its own pool against multiple opponents, including Bloom Carroll, Canal Winchester, and Fairfield Christian Academy. Go Vikes!

Check our tweets this weekend for the team’s updates.

Written by Margaret Sutton’14