The girls swim team competed at the DuPage Valley Conference meet Oct. 22 and 23, placing third in freshman and sophomore races, first in junior varsity and junior varsity open races, and third for varsity races overall. 

“We have been doing really well this season,” senior captain Morgan Sokol said shortly before the conference began. 

According to Sokol, one of the team’s biggest strengths was their hard work and dedication to the sport. Many of the team members, such as Sokol, swim year-round. For those who don’t, they work hard in-season to catch up with the rest of the team, head coach Mike Adams said. 

“They arrive in shape,” Adams said. “And it encourages others to follow suit.” 

Sokol noticed the hard work as well, both in events where people compete individually and relays that rely on teams of four.

“I think that everyone’s been working really hard this season, so we will see lots of time drops in individuals and relays,” Sokol said. 

Adams said he was looking for time drops throughout the season and personal growth as well. 

“We have been going really fast in the season, which gives us hope for the end of the season that we will have lots of drops,” Sokol said. “We’ll be able to show other teams how good we really are.” 

Another part of the swim team is their team bonding. The girls swim team has a big sister, little sister tradition where each of the older swimmers acts as a “big sister” to one of the underclassmen swimmers. Before big swim meets, the sisters buy each other gifts to encourage one another. For DVC, the sisters make fleece blankets for each other. 

“It’s a good way to get close with the girls,” Sokol said. “We’re always close with the girls on our relays, which helps with trust.” 

Adams pointed out that the big sister, little sister tradition is what sets high school swimming apart from the collegiate level. 

“It makes high school swimming more special and fun,” Adams said. 

The team placed 12th overall at IHSA state.