On Saturday, February 27th, finals for the Girls Swimming State Championship were held at the University of Delaware’s Rawstrom Natatorium. It was an exciting meet for both the spectators and the swimmers, which were a mix of talented and energetic freshmen, as well as veteran upperclassmen, who were eager to finish their high school season on a high point. Schools from all over Delaware were present to compete for the state title, yet all eyes were on the Ursuline team, to see if they would snatch the title away from the Charter School of Wilmington, who had won the title for the past eight years.

Ursuline won the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays, while missing the first place slot for the 200 Freestyle Relay by one second. There were other wins for the Raiders as well. Junior Marie Dickson placed first in the 200 individual medley, three seconds ahead of second place Emily Longnecker from Wilmington Charter. Freshman Sophia McAneny-Droz from Ursuline took first place in the 100 breastroke in a time of  1:06.11, touching out junior Sarah Hyde from Cape Henlopen by .17 seconds.

Other schools had many successes as well. Archmere senior Ellie Jogani won both of her individual events, the 100 and 200 freestyle, and also made the podium for both of her relays. Appoquinimink’s Josephine Marsh also finished her high school season with successful swims, by winning the 100 butterfly and placing second in the 100 backstroke.

Several Padua swimmers competed Saturday. Junior Emily Pfeifer placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and seventh in the 100 breaststroke.  Both 200 medley and freestyle relays, placed sixth in the state and the 400 freestyle relay, composed of Emma Miedzius, Christine Barba, Ally Stuebing, and Maddy Guidash, placed eleventh. Junior Emily Stuebing swam the 50 freestyle and 100 backstroke, placing eighth and fourteenth.

Saturday also marked the end of many girls’ high school swimming careers, including Padua senior, Maddy Guidash.

“Swimming at States is something that all high school swimmers look forward to, and there’s this ineffable energy when you’re on the pool deck coming from the swimmers, your teammates, coaches, and everyone in the stands,” Guidash stated, “Being a senior adds all the hype of your races because, for many people, it’s their last year competing like this and you want to end your season with a bang.”

In the end, Ursuline took the title for the first time since 1987 with 326 points. Wilmington Charter got second place with 228.5 points, and the Wilmington Friends School came in third with 171. Padua tied for sixth place with Conrad School of Science with a score of 122 points. In the past, States have been a dynamic and energetic experience to be a part of, either in the stands or on deck, and this year was no different.