Girls’ Varsity Swim and Dive capped off a standout season with six athletes qualifying for the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) State Meet on Nov. 14 and 15. Sophomores Alexis Tsou, Briana Cornoiu, and Peyton Marquardt, junior Emily Browne, and seniors Kendall Marquardt and Lila Su all earned their place among the state’s best, Kendall said.

On the diving boards, Tsou finished fourth, and Su wrapped up her high school diving career with an 11th place finish. This season marked an important next step for Su, who has committed to diving at the University of Denver. For swimmers, the 200 freestyle relay team of Kendall, Cornoiu, Browne, and Peyton raced to 31st place finish with a time of 1:39.23. Peyton also qualified individually in the 50 freestyle, placing 17th with a time of 23.95, just 0.08 of a second away from making finals. Work and commitment to the sport is what makes progress possible, Kendall said.

“From competing at this level for the past few years, I’ve learned a lot about the discipline it takes to practice multiple times a day every day and how each small effort contributes to success at the end,” Kendall said.

Mental preparation is everything when it comes to big competitions, Peyton said. All the time spent practicing goes toward qualifying and competing at state, Peyton said.

“Qualifying individually for state proved to me that all my hard work and dedication from the season had paid off and it was relieving,” Peyton said. “I learned the importance of not putting too much pressure on myself and how important mental preparation is.”

Competing at the state level can be nerve racking, Peyton said. The big crowd of support at the meet helped to remove stress and anxiety from the competition, Peyton said.

“The atmosphere at state influenced my confidence,” Peyton said. “Throughout the meet my teammates supported me by cheering me on and keeping me relaxed.”