By Rich Palzewic
Sports Editor
SUAMICO – It appears as though Bay Port junior swimmer Sydney Aird has a bright future ahead of her.
In dramatic fashion, Aird won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:03.48) at the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 state meet at Waukesha South High School April 6 by four-hundredths of a second over runner-up Sydney Hoff from Stevens Point.
“I don’t even know how far in the pool that distance is,” Aird laughed. “Maybe it was an inch or a few millimeters. All I know is, I won. I’m happy – it was a weird season, and I’m glad everything worked out.”
Aird, who came into state seeded third in the event, said she was shocked with the victory.
“I knew I was behind halfway through the race, but I tried to sprint the last 25 yards,” she said. “The last 25 yards, I noticed I was catching her and getting closer. I couldn’t see her at the end of the race, so I didn’t know where I’d finish. I saw the video, and it was close.”
Aird said it feels weird and stressful to think the fall girls’ swimming season is starting again in a few months.
“I’m looking forward to the pressure,” she said. “It’ll motivate me to train harder.”
Local teams didn’t swim at invitationals this season, so they only swam in duals.
“It was swimming against the local kids all season,” said Aird. “I felt less prepared for state, but practices were the same.”
She also swam the 200 individual medley at state and finished in a tie for 12th in 2:12.33.
Aird said she’d like to swim in college, but as of now, she doesn’t have specific plans.
“I’d like to swim at the Division I level if I can,” Aird said.
Other local results
1-meter diving: 8, Taya Schmidt, PUL, 373.05.
200 medley relay: 10, BP (Adie Tooley, Aird, Lacy Geurts, Ellasen Peot), 1:50.97.
200 freestyle: 3, Sienna Nitke, ASH, 1:52.42; 15, Emily Calaway, BP, 1:59.43.
200 IM: 9, Tooley, BP, 2:10.88; 14, Ella Sieber, GBU, 2:12.96.
50 freestyle: 11, Geurts, BP, 24.79.
100 butterfly: 3, Hallory Domnick, ASH, 56.18; 5, Geurts, BP, 58.50.
500 freestyle: 2, Domnick, ASH, 4:59.75; 10, Calaway, BP, 5:15.76.
200 freestyle relay: 5, ASH (Nitke, Selissen, Sydney Popp, Domnick), 1:39.45.
100 backstroke: 10, Sieber, GBU, 59.49.
100 breaststroke: 9, Addy Zurowski, BP, 1:06.73.
400 freestyle relay: 7, ASH (Nitke, Liz Witt, Popp, Domnick), 3:36.91; 9, BP (Tooley, Nicole Calaway, Zurowski, Geurts), 3:39.02.
Local team scores
7, ASH, 116 points; 8, BP, 103.5; 14, GBU, 50; 27, PUL, 11.