Plant Swim and Dive competes at state finals
Flipping midair, senior Maxwell Rolla-Mullins competed in the state finals for swim and dive on Nov. 12-14. Plant had many swimmers/divers compete in the meet.
On Nov. 12-14, the PHS Swim and Dive Team sent their fastest swimmers to the state finals meet, which was held in Stuart Fl. and comprised of 47 teams across the state. Senior Maxwell Rolla-Mullis was one of the two PHS divers to make the cut to go to finals.
“My favorite part about the state finals was being with my teammates,” Rolla-Mullis said. “Adley (the other state diver) and I drove together, and it was nice to be able to talk with her about the meet and how we expected it to go. Also, eating dinner with the coaches and some of the swimmers was a highlight of my meet.”
Rolla-Mullis placed 9th among the best high school divers in the state and acquired a diving score of 345.50.
“The environment of the meet was very loud and fun,” Rolla-Mullis said. “The big crowd helped calm my nerves, and it was fun to see parents go crazy for their swimmers.
“My goals this season were mostly just to have fun and enjoy diving. It was my senior year at a new school and a new team, so I really just wanted to appreciate the sport and meet new people. I had such a blast this season, and I couldn’t have asked for a better team.”
Junior Joao Lapagesse swam in the finals and placed 16th in the Boys 200 Yard Free with a time of 1:44.58 and 12th in the Boys 500 yard free with a time of 4:38.66.
“The team atmosphere was encouraging, as usual,” Lapagesse said. “It’s always nice having a team to cheer for you and motivate you on your races. Also, having Coach Roy there for the first time with us was really nice as she’s very involved with the swimmers.”
Lapagesse has been here before, during his sophomore year, and he set individual goals along with team goals this time.
“I wished to go under 4:40 on the 500, and I accomplished this by going a 4:37 and dropping five seconds on the race,” Lapagesse said. “I also wanted to make finals by placing top 16, and I, fortunately, was able to place top 16 on both my races.
The environment definitely pushed me to do better than usual meets. There were a lot of people in the stands, and they transmitted the event live, so there was a lot more pressure to perform better than usual.