On Nov. 16, a group of five swimmers traveled to Ocala for the State Championship tournament, where sophomore Blair Wootson finished 15th in the 50 freestyle and 20th in the 100 butterfly, and the girls had strong showing in their relay, finishing in 20th overall.
The Falcons were led by Head Coach Paul Supernand, who traveled with a girls relay team made up of Scarlett Olson, Danielle Weathers, Camryn Sanders, and Piper Pullen for the girls, and individual boys swimmer Blair Wootson.
For Coach Suprenand, this year was all about steady improvement.
“The awesome part about it is the girls kept getting faster,” Suprenand said. “We got some personal bests and it earned the girls relay team a 20th in the overall spot,” Suprenand said.
When it came to the individual swimmer who earned a top 20 spot in not one but two events, sophomore Blair Wootson, Suprenand commented that his contagious focus provided a driving motor for the team.
“He’s always leading the team when it comes to points,” Suprenand said. “And just showing up with laser focus to get his best into the pool, and it helps motivate others with that attitude.”
In recent years, the success has become a standard for the swim team, who earned several 1st place finishes throughout the regular season, and sent a record number of 22 out of 24 swimmers to the District Championship.
For Coach Suprenand, there were so many leaders that accounted for this year’s success.
“Piper Pullen is like our anchor for the 25 free relay team,” Suprenand said. “And Cameron Sanders seems to do something more than she thought she could every time— she’s just solid.”
Relay races are a powerful way for swimmers to contribute their individual strengths to a small team, and Cameron Sanders felt her relay team excelled when met with the challenge of states.
“I swam alongside Piper Pullen, Danielle Weathers, and Scarlett Olson,” Sanders said. “The traveling to States was really fun and we all got to share the experience with each other. It really makes us feel like a team.”
One key for the team this year was the component of team building. According to Suprenand, the team gathered often outside of the pool in order to build a bond.
“We had a lot of socials from the beginning of the season at Coach Pullen’s house,” Suprenand said. “We just had a lot of time to actually build a team— I think it was just an easy way for people to connect.
It didn’t hurt that the swim team was deep this year, with a variety of athletes who could fill gaps and do different things for the program.
“The Conn brothers, Gabriel and Tyler, are interchangeable,” Suprenand said. “They were the Swiss Army Knives of swimmers, and they were built for speed.
“And Cameron Sanders and Danielle Weathers brought intensity and talent to every event they entered.”
With a lot of talent and leadership, going into next year, Coach Suprenand has high hopes for the team.
“We’re always looking to move the needle in the direction of making us more cohesive…raising the bar on swimmer expectations so that they can be their very best,” Suprenand said.
