“And in first place… Highlands!” Excitement fills the air at the 2025 regional championships as the team jumps up and down and goes to accept the award. Pictures are taken and, as promised, the coaches jump in the pool fully clothed.
With the 2025-2026 swimming championship season around the corner, memories from last year are strong. The team was very successful, winning the regional championships and they were first runner-up at state. This year, the team is hoping to bring home the championship title. Now, the Highlands swim and dive team is ready to repeat those memories.
“It would just be an awesome accomplishment for the kids, the swimmers they’ve worked so hard for, it would be really cool to hoist that big trophy at the end and say we’re the best in the state,” Head Coach Kevin Kampshmidt said.
Kampshmidt has been the head coach for three years and has been close to winning state every year. He’s been training the swimmers hard to prepare for the races to come. Some of the seniors on the team have been swimming for Highlands since seventh grade and are very hopeful about the weeks to come.
“It would mean a lot to me to win, especially because I’ve been on the team for six years and we’ve gotten really close each year, so it would mean a lot, especially my senior year,” Ragan Moore (12) said.
The team has grown since the last state championship and is looking forward to swimming fast and having fun.
“We have definitely, I think, become stronger than last year,” Kampshmidt said.
Some of the swimmers are looking forward to the accomplishments that come with swimming fast at the end of the season. At the end of the season meets, the energy is very high and the adrenaline gets swimmers ready to go their best times.
“I think we’ve done really well, but I think the best is yet to come. We’re really a January, February team, and I think we’re really gonna swim the best when we need to,” Matthew Meyers (12) said.
The state meet is a great opportunity for all of the swimmers to show their skills and have fun. Winning it would mean a lot to the swimmers and coaches. Especially since they have put in so much effort to get here.
“I think that winning state would really be the cherry on top or icing on the cake. I think that’s what a lot of swimmers have been working for during the past season,” Noah Gracey (12) said.
