As Michael Corleone once said in “The Godfather”, “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.” On Tuesday October 5, multiple Xavier students competed against each other in the Kennedy versus Washington swim meet. Since Xavier high school does not have a swim team duetothefactthatitdoesnot have a pool, students compete for public schools in their district. The meet was senior night for Kennedy swimming seniors Anne Baumann, Jessica Lyon and Emma Dworzynski. Baumann is a captain this year for the Kennedy team and commented on what it is like to represent another school. “Despite not going to Kennedy, we are still fully a part of the team and are valuable assets. We have great team spirit and do our best to help contribute to the team,” Baumann said. “It was kind of surreal to know that all of the special senior night things were for me, for my class.” Competing for a different school gives many of the girls an opportunity to get outside of their comfort zone and meet new people. For senior Lucy Pfab, this was a major reason in deciding to join the Washington swim team. Even though swimming can be thought of as an individual sport, the idea of competing towards a common goal with new people excited her. “It’s super fun to get to cheer and support a different school. Being able to meet new people from a different school is super fun. I have made so many new friends and people I will know for the rest of my life,” Pfab said. After this meet, both teams will be looking forward to the postseason meets and compete against each other when it matters the most. “Our approach has not changed all year, since we are having a good season, there is no need to change what has already been going well,” Junior Casey Gannon who swims on the Kennedy team said. “It’s always very exciting to compete against the Wash girls from Xavier, it’s always fun to race a girl from the Xavier team especially for relays.”

Come support the Xavier girls as they compete against their classmates and friends in the MVC JV conference meet on October 24th at the Linn-Mar Aquatic Center.