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A Spooky Splash to the Lamar Swim Season

By Mischa Wijesekera, Lamar High School, School Buzz Reporter | October 18, 2022

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Lella Wolk, Dwayne Davis, and Tsubasa Rhoe

From left to right: Lella Wolk, Head Coach Dwayne Davis, and Tsubasa Rhoe pose during the annual Lamar Halloween swim meet.

Every year, the Lamar swim team dresses up in costumes on Halloween night. You won’t find the team going door-to-door trick-or-treating for candy in their neighborhoods. Instead, you will find the team attending the annual Halloween swim meet at Lamar. This Lamar tradition pins friends against friends in a head-to-head or stroke-to-stroke race of ghouls versus goblins. For the second year in a row, team ghouls emerged victorious.

“Every year, the seniors on the team draft freshmen onto their team,” sophomore Lina Bernstiel said. “You can be drafted for either ghouls or goblins.”

In the past, the winner of the Halloween swim meet has alternated between ghouls and goblins. The ghouls victory caught everyone by surprise because the win marks a two-year winning streak.

“Last year, the ghouls won as well so we expected the goblins to win this year, but the ghouls ended up pulling through and winning for the second year in a row,” Bernstiel said.

For many swimmers, the swim meet was not just about winning, but also about honing individual skills as well.

“The meet went really well, especially because my times dropped,” sophomore Trinity Booker said.

Sophomore Miranda Shriver believes that there is a long way to go for everyone to unlock their true potential for the upcoming season. “Although some of the freshmen needed more guidance, the meet ran very smoothly,” Shriver said.

The swim meet was not just filled with competition. Both ghouls and goblins united to dress up in creative costumes.

“The Halloween meet was awesome,” sophomore Lella Wolk said. “I got to dress up and I got to see my best friends.”

Surprisingly, out of the hundreds of characters to possibly dress up as, Booker and Zoe Pierce both dressed up as the same iconic Disney character.

“I dressed up as Stitch from Lilo and Stitch,” sophomore Trinity Booker said. “It wasn’t coordinated, but Zoe and I both came dressed up as Stitch.”

After an exhaustive swim meet, swimmers enjoyed the opportunity to munch on candy and plan for future meets.

"I had a blast, especially because Lella’s mom brought candy for everyone to share,” Shriver said.