BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

STE Represents for the Seventh Time at State

By Celia Houston, Saint Thomas' Episcopal School, School Buzz Editor | February 6, 2017

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Katherine Schwartz, Sophie Close, Olivia Lane and Celia Houston behind the blocks preparing for the Medley Relay at Regionals.

“Who likes waking up early?” It’s a comical, but legitimate, question asked by the St. Thomas’ Episcopal swim team captains as they recruit swimmers to join the team. The meet with mixed reactions from high schoolers, but you can’t deny their success over the years in attracting top swimming talent.

The team began practicing in October, and they practice every weekday until the middle of February. The team arrives at the Chancellors Family Center pool at 5:50 a.m. with Coach Helena Finley. Their practices last about an hour in which they work on technique, strength, starts, stroke and endurance.

As the season is coming to its end, the swimmers share an extremely strong bond. Teammates cheer their fellow Saints on in the water and congratulate one another after the race. This team knows the importance of every hard-earned point. In 2016, the boys won state by 2 points and the girls won by 1 point.

Both the men and women won regionals this year and are now focused on earning another state ring. Back in 2016, both the boys and girls won state championships. Both of these wins came down to the last relays and had everyone in the natatorium on their feet cheering.

This mighty team tends to dominate TAPPS division III. The women's team won state in 2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and were runners-up in 2014 and 2009. The men's team won in 2016 and 2015, and were runners-up in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. There is a lot of pressure on these teams to keep the streak alive, and the swimmers are happy to make a splash while rising to the challenge.