The girls swimming and diving season ended on Nov. 14 when junior Hailey Purcell competed in the IHSA State Finals, placing 31st in the 50-yard freestyle. To qualify, Hailey broke her own school record in the event, finishing in 23.99 seconds. Hailey is the first girl on U-High’s swimming and diving team to qualify for state in three years. 

Hailey did not get to compete in state finals, which is limited to the top 16 swimmers in each event, but she was still satisfied with her performance, particularly because she beat her previous record of 24.61 seconds by a considerable margin.

“I was like, ‘I’m going to swim under 24 seconds in the 50-yard free,’” she said. “And that was basically my goal from the beginning of the season.”

Captain Hayla Shah, senior Lydia Gilbert, junior Kayla Monterola, junior Rachel Hu, sophomore Sally Barth and Hailey all competed at sectionals on Nov. 8, where the team placed fourth. The 400-yard freestyle relay team — Hailey, Zoe, Lydia and Rachel  — also broke the school record at sectionals, finishing in 344.1 seconds.

Hayla feels proud of the team’s performance, especially given the tough early-morning practices and mid-season dips in morale.

“Everyone did so well,” she said. “There are a lot of personal bests, which is really good. I think everyone really pushed themselves this year. I’m just so impressed with everyone.”

Hailey credited much of her success to the tight-knit community the team creates.

She said, “I feel better when there’s just a bunch of people being positive and trying to cheer each other on.”