Ellen Pasch

Maria Parisi (12), Riley Parisi (10), Isabella Poertner (9) and Kaylee Nguyen (12) pose at St. Peters Rec-Plex after competing at state. “We basically talk about how our plan is either to go faster or just do better overall,” said Poertner. “Then we cheer each other on while we’re swimming and we just basically collaborate on how to do better.” She added that she was excited to qualify for state, following in the steps of her siblings.

Swimmers Kaylee Nguyen (12), Maria Parisi (12), Riley Parisi (10) and Isabella Poertner (9) refused to let the downpour of snow stop them on Feb. 16, as they traveled to St. Peters Rec-Plex in St. Charles to compete in the state meet.

“I was happy and excited that I finally made it to state for swim,” said Nguyen. 

The girls qualified for the 400 freestyle relay, where each swimmer swims four laps, adding up to 16 laps total. 

“It was definitely an exciting environment to be in,” Riley Parisi said. “It was super crowded, but it was cool to see how many other teams made it to state.”

The girls were seeded 32nd and placed 30th, with a time of 4 minutes, 9.55 seconds. 

“We only went in one relay and we placed last,” said Parisi. “We were definitely really hyped up and we were really excited to be there since we haven’t been to state since my cousin went here, and she’s a junior in college now. So probably like five or six years, I think.”

With it being the first time the four girls had competed at state, they had a lot to prepare for and practices looked a bit different.

“We had one fun day just to celebrate that we were going to state,” said Poertner. “The rest we did actual sets that will help us, like we worked on our relay starts and just normal starts because those are one of the most important things about racing. Then, Riley Parisi brought in a swim set from an old club team and we did that to help us work on speed and endurance.”

The girls also did work outside of practice to help benefit them even more.

“I went to practice, but then I also did things on top of that like going to the gym and eating healthy and stuff like that,” said Riley Parisi.

The girls used the excitement of being at state to motivate themselves and each other.

“If someone’s swimming then most of us, or at least some of us, go up to the edge of the pool and just scream ‘go.’ That’s pretty much how we try and support each other,” said Nguyen.

With a good end to Nguyen and Maira Parisi’s swim careers, Poertner and Riley Parisi hope to continue their streak and make it to state again.

“I’m very excited for my swim season next year. Hopefully, I’ll go to state next year,” Riley Parisi said. “My goal for my next years in high school swimming is to break the school’s 100 backstroke record, I’m like two seconds away. I gotta keep working hard.”