After almost five months of getting up at 5:30 a.m. for practice, five days a week and seemingly endless criticism and sets from coaches, it all comes down to whether the Timber Creek High School swim team qualifiers perform well at Districts, and the impact the team has had thus far on each athlete. For student athletes like Karson Gopffarth, the swim team has not only allowed him to showcase his own talents, but impact his teammates around him while being impacted as well.
While the divers compete on Jan. 20, 2017 for Districts, the swim team will be competing Jan. 21, 2017, with non qualifiers competing the weekend of Jan. 30. District warm ups begin at 9:30 a.m., and the actual meet will start at 10:30 a.m.
“We’ve dropped a lot of time this year, and one of our teammates, Elaina Allen, even made it to finals in T.I.S.C.A this year as well, so I think we have a really good shot at doing well at Districts,” said Gopffarth. “There are so many amazing athletes on our team, with athletes such as Matt Goin, Drew McDonald, Josie Gunn and even my brother Kamron Gopffarth, who excel in giving our team some of the fastest times we have.”
With numerous student athletes competing across the boards in relays as well as individual events, the team expects to see several swimmers qualify for Regions in Lubbock on Feb. 2-3, and possibly make it further to State.
“There’s still that underlying anticipation and nerves, but I feel confident going into Districts,” Gopffarth commented. “I think my teammates will do their very best…they’ve always had a huge impact on my life personally. We all love the sport even though it may not always seem like it at 6:00 a.m. practices, and our team is definitely keeping up with the escalating competitiveness and we’re always working hard to do so.”
Go out and cheer on your fellow falcons!