Dakota Ridge High School has so many sports to choose from. There’s the football team, the basketball team, the hockey team, and more! Among these choices is the swim and dive team. Swim and dive captains, Elaina Cassidy and Ashley Dang, share what it was like being a part of swim and dive this season.
Q: Was there one moment from this season that really stands out to you?
Cassidy: I promised that I wouldn’t be the first one to cry on Senior Night, until Sage gave me flowers, and I instantly started to cry. Sage and I have been swimming together since we were in 7th and 8th grade, and I will miss her so much when I graduate. She has been an amazing friend, a wonderful influence, and has always pushed me to do better in everything I do.
Dang: The one moment that really stood out to me this season is probably every time our team has a “conflict.” It mainly happened due to a tech suit tearing, but rather than arguing and fighting, the team members did a very good job at compromising and finding a solution together.
Q: Tell me a story about a time when you were most proud of your team.
Cassidy: I was the most proud of my team this season when we all had a wonderful night at Jeffco Invite. Many of us dropped time and had great races between prelims and finals.
Dang: A time when I was most proud of my team was when Kirsten did an amazing job at the 500 Free Event. She lapped everyone in the event! I was crazy proud of her.
Q: Tell me a story about a time when you were most proud of yourself this season.
Cassidy: I have been the most proud of myself this season for all the work that I have done as a captain. I’ve had a few adults come and tell me how welcomed all our new teammates felt this season, and that means a lot to me.
Dang: When I was most proud of myself was probably when I dropped 6 seconds on my 100 Back. That event, in my opinion, is incredibly difficult, and the fact that I did so well really blew me away. I was super happy.
Q: Was there a time when you did better than you thought you would?
Cassidy: I did better than I thought I would at Jeffco Invite when I happened to drop 15 seconds in 200 IM. I hit the wall at the end of the race, looked up at the scoreboard, and was shocked to see that I had dropped 15 seconds from my time this year. My coach and parents were also very surprised — that much of a time drop is very rare.
Dang: When I did my 100 Fly for the first time in a meet. It was a crazy thought at the time, but after swimming the event, I did way better than I thought.
Q: What was your biggest challenge this season?
Cassidy: My biggest challenge this season was taking care of my team. I held myself to a very high standard to make sure that all my teammates had what they needed and knew what was going on. I also took on a lot of extra work to help out my coach whenever needed. This was a bit different than my junior season as a captain, but I truly enjoyed everything about my last season as a team captain.
Dang: My biggest challenge this season was definitely trying to balance practice with the other activities that I do outside of school. Due to the other activities I have to attend to, I’m often missing at least one practice a week, which Coach Sully isn’t very happy about.
Q: How has being a part of this team affected you, your future, and/or your future plans?
Cassidy: I’ve learned a lot from my teammates and often use the time swimming to think and consider what’s next for me. The pool has become a place of peace for me, and I will always return to it for good exercise, physically and mentally.
Dang: Being a part of this team has really helped me with keeping an open mind. I’ve gotten significantly better at communicating with others and being able to interact with the rest of my teammates, as well. My future plans are, preferably, to go to college for swimming and be committed to a college.
Q: What will you be doing next year?
Cassidy: I plan to go to college to get a business degree. I’ve found a lot of interest in event production from my current Warren Tech class. I hope to use what I’ve learned from my role as a captain to continue to lead in my future career.
Dang: I intend on doing four years of swimming. I’ll be looking out for potential scholarships and internships, but my dream is to swim for a college. I do have other plans if my swimming career doesn’t end up the way I intend for it to go.
Q: What is one funny story you’ve had with the team throughout your swimming career?
Cassidy: My freshman year, at a meet at Manual High School downtown, I decided to do cartwheels down the hallway before my race, while Savannah and Callie filmed it. The three of us still have a similar sense of humor and enjoy singing, dancing, skipping and cartwheels before races.
Dang: This one time, with last year’s swimmers, Meena, Amanda, and I, we decided to hang out together so that we could help Meena get her senior assassin target. So they used me as “bait,” and made me go knock on this random guy’s door, and ask if “Kaitlyn” was home so that Meena could surprise attack the guy. It did not go as smoothly as we thought it would because he had a girl over…It was very awkward, and he ended up catching us hiding behind our car anyway. It was a very funny moment.
The swim and dive captains show so much clear passion for both the sport and their team. Be sure to congratulate them for making it to State!
