Battle High School’s girls swim team consists of 19 girls dedicated to the sport they love. These waterlogged ladies spend most of their mornings underwater, in the gym, or on the track. Their self discipline and rigorous routines help make them the fastest fish around.

They are up bright and early, most days, to get to practice every morning by 6:00 A.M. at Hickman’s pool. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the girls are ready at 5:30 for strength training, followed by an intense workout in the pool for two hours. By eight they are out of the pool, into the showers, and on their way to Battle.

The ladies don’t even get to sleep in on the weekends. Either they have a meet somewhere around Missouri, or they have to practice an additional three hours on any Saturday.

While most high school swimmers have only been swimming since middle school or freshman year, Payton Jobe, a Senior, says “I’ve been swimming since I was eight years old. I started swimming after the 2008 Olympics and when my grandfather passed away.”

Like Jobe, many of the swimmers on Battle’s team have been swimming since an early age. Erin Sicht, a Junior, has been swimming since the third grade. When asked about how she thinks practices have been going she said, “So far our practices have gone swimmingly. But there is always room for improvement.”

Likewise, Madi Null has been swimming for five years. She says “before I joined Battle High School’s swim team, I participated in club swim with MAC.”

Autumn Garvey, another Senior, has been swimming since she was ten years old. She tried a lot of sports before diving into the world of swimming. After one practice she ended up loving the water, and was hooked.

The dedicated and disciplined ladies that compete on Battle’s team have the knowhow and the technique to be winners this season Their collective experience makes them a force to be reckoned with at local and state meets. Follow them while they float to the top this coming season.