The smell of chlorine is strong in the air in Knoxville, Tennessee. For the White Station High School swim team, the entire season has been leading up to this weekend. 

After a long season of swimming personal best times and cheering on teammates, the Spartan Swim Team was able to travel to Knoxville in order to compete against teams around the state. This event is the highlight of many swimmer’s seasons because they get to show off the skills they have spent all season perfecting. 

“I think we did really well considering we have a very small team. Most of us improved our times and swam really well,” Georgia Bruno (10) said.

White Station swim team had 13 swimmers competing at State, which is small compared to the 30 plus people that are on some other teams in Tennessee. However, despite the small number of people who attended, Paxton Smythe (10) still managed to qualify for finals in the 100 yd breaststroke event. Finals is an exclusive event where the fastest people in each event race.

“One of my goals for state was to make finals, so I was just super happy when I achieved that goal,” Paxton Smythe (10) said. 

Even though competing took up a lot of the weekend, there was also time to hang out and grow closer as a team. 

“My favorite part about state is the team aspect and community, especially when all the Memphis swimmers come together to cheer for you,” Smythe said. 

This competition was a great experience for all of the swimmers and will continue to be for many years to come.