She takes a deep breath. Senior Madelyn Mechling is about to take the dive into the cool, blue water. This is one of the last few region meets before the upcoming state meet, and she needs to perform as best she can. The school’s biggest district rival, Lakewood, is here. She wipes away the sweat rolling down her face, gets into position and prepares to leap into the waves of competition.

Mechling earned the Female Winner award at the District 4-6A region meet and will be travelling to Lubbock and Austin to compete in her final state meet February 14-15.

“In one week, we will travel to Lubbock for our region meet and the swimmers who finish top two in their events will then travel to Austin for the 6A State meet,” she said. “I have competed for the last three years in the state meet and although I’m excited this is my last year, I will definitely miss high school swimming.”

Junior Sarah Walker said Mechling is a great member of the team and deserves the award she got at the last swim meet.

“Madelyn is our fourth person on our relay and her leadership skills really helps lead our team,” she said. “I think Madelyn deserves the best female swimmer award because she’s just a good person and swimmer. She has a good heart in and out of the pool.”

Because of the swim team, Madelyn has worked hard on her goals and said the future is looking bright.

“I am originally from Colorado where high school sports are nowhere near as huge as they are in Texas,” she said. “Having this incredible group of people around me every day has helped me achieve my own goals of swimming in college as I am on scholarship to swim for the University of Alabama next year.”

Mechling said the school swim team has meant a lot to her since she moved to Texas.

“When I moved to Texas my freshman year of high school, I was excited that there was a great high school swim team for me to compete for,” she said. “I immediately had a huge friend group and amazing support system which I am still so grateful for today.”

Because of this, Mechling said the people on the swim team made her high school career special.

“The swim team became my family when I moved to Texas,” she said. “It takes a very special group of people to show up with a smile on their face and make practice fun at 5:30 am every morning. My teammates have taught me so much about dedication and I am forever grateful for them.”