Mikayla Flory said many of the athletes on the Valley swim team are fighting their fears when they compete. The Vikings’ roster is filled with first-time swimmers learning how to successfully get off the blocks or to execute a flip turn.
Some of Valley’s successes may have made things less scary. The Vikings saw their most seasoned swimmer, senior Damien Mauro, set the school record in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 5 minutes, 5.58 seconds that was previously set in 2008 by Rob Livorio.
It was the first time a Vikings swimmer, regardless of gender, set a school record since 2014 when Cody Schrecongost set marks in both the 50 and 100 free.
Valley’s boys team also snapped a long losing streak in dual meets Dec. 9 by beating Deer Lakes, 76-58. Flory didn’t have the exact year, but none of the boys’ seniors had experienced a win in a dual meet.
Mauro qualified for WPIALs in two events: the 200 free with a time of 1:57.55 and the 500 free.
“I think that it sets the tone really well,” Flory said. “I think they see that they can do it, especially for the kids who are returning who haven’t won in the past. It’s been a lost time since we’ve won, and we’re used to getting beat by these larger teams, even with a very similar caliber of skills. I think seeing it’s possible to win is a huge morale booster.”
Senior Duncan Josefoski was happy he was able to help the Vikings get a team win before he graduated. The last one he remembered was when the girls won his freshman season.
“About halfway through, I found out that we were in the lead,” Josefoski said. “I was hoping that we’d win. And when we did, I was excited.”
Producing a win so quickly also provided Flory with a morale boost.
Flory, who is 25 and was a swimmer for Homer-Center, is leading a varsity program for the first time. She has gotten into the pool to demonstrate technique and is accustomed to working with swimmers at all skill levels.
During the summer, Flory teaches swimming to make extra money.
She was an assistant coach for the Valley soccer team this fall= despite not knowing much about the sport. Instead, she used her fitness background to help with conditioning and convinced five of those girls to come out for swimming.
“I think only eight of our kids out of our 22 or 23 have swam before this year,” Flory said. “The rest of them have never swam a lap in their lives before. Seeing them struggling to get across the pool to now swimming butterflies, breast strokes and longer distances, it’s rewarding for me and them too.”
Landon McWilliams helped Valley with the 400 free relay against Deer Lakes along with Mauro, Josefoski and Tyler Graham, said he started swimming last year. A friend convinced him to come out for the team.
“Honestly, it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be,” McWilliams said. “Over the past two years, I’ve been trying hard to get better at every stroke.”
Josefoski said the variety of events he competes in demonstrates the progress he’s made. He competes in the 100 back, 100 breast, 200 IM and the 400 IM Relay.
“I feel like my progress has improved a lot,” Josefoski said. “I feel like I’m more comfortable doing more strokes than just freestyle and backstroke now. When I first joined, I could only do freestyle and backstroke.”