By Cristina Damato
State championships are the pinnacle of a high school swimmer’s career. Qualifying requires months of hard work, dedication, and persistence. It’s certainly not easy, and is an achievement worthy of much celebration.
This year, four White Plains swimmers – Kara Ha, Nicole Euyoque, Grace Hricay, and Saskia Aikman – qualified for the state meet in Rochester. Kara, Grace, and Saskia all competed last year as well. They boarded a bus along with other Section I qualifiers on Thursday, Nov. 16. Coach Gilmartin, the Varsity Girls’ Swim and Dive Coach, said, “The team had a wonderful sendoff from the band, administration, the tiger, and the police department,” and added that “the Section 1 team was overjoyed with the celebration of their accomplishments.”
In the pool, the Tigers shone. Junior Saskia Aikman finished seventh in the 50 free with a time of 24.20, and ninth in the 100 free with a time of 53.35. In addition, the relay team, consisting of all four girls, finished sixth with a time of 1:39.71. Coach Gil said, “It was an outstanding meet for White Plains High School.”
Saskia later said about the event, “Going into the meet I was excited, but nervous. I was glad we all had the opportunity to go” and confirmed that she had “a lot of fun.”
The Orange congratulates the athletes and wishes them the best of luck for future seasons!