The final state race of girls, the 400 free relay, is about to start. This relay’s place will determine if Highlands wins the state title. The Highlands boys team is in the stands, waving their shirts in the air and cheering. They had stood for hours in the cold to get into the pool deck to watch the girls’ swim finals.
“We stood in line for like an hour and a half out in the cold to wait to get good seats for the girls. And we knew even though we had swam well the day before, our job wasn’t finished. They had a lot of pressure and a lot of stress on them, so we just had to keep their spirits high and make sure they were having fun,” boys team captain and Highlands boys high point winner Noah Gracey (12) said.
The state journey started with 24 swimmers that either qualified in an individual event or on a relay. The boys team would swim prelims Friday morning, then hopefully have qualifiers return Friday night for finals. The girls would do the same Saturday. The goal was to win the state combined, which has only been done twice in Highlands history: 1995 and 2020. The state win has been in the making for the last few years, with Highlands teacher Kevin Kampschmidt becoming the new head coach in 2023.
“I love Coach K. I would say him being in the program has made the team better and made our team actually a team. I was here before he was the coach, and he’s just done a lot for this team, and I’m very grateful for him,” Ragan Moore (12), girls team captain, said.
The team as a whole acknowledges how Kampschmidt has helped the team grow a closer bond since he became the head coach. He helped the individual aspect of swim and dive feel more like a team effort.
“The biggest challenge I think I had when I started was bringing the team more together as one big unit. There were a lot of individuals out there swimming, and it wasn’t much of a team, so that was kind of the goal…” Kampschmidt said.
Now the team all shares the same connection.
“I mean, we’re just like one big family. Truly, I don’t think I have seen a more spectacular team, we have all grown up together. We have all swam together for so long, and like it’s truly not a team, like we are a family. We do this together, we’re in this together, we are all cheering for everybody,” Swimmer and Dive Team Captain Addie Tinkler (12) said.
The class of 2026 has had its eye on the title since the last win in 2020, when they were sixth graders: a year before they could make the team. Ever since then, the dream has been to earn the title again.
“The State Win is probably one of the best things that has ever happened for me for my swim career, and we’ve been waiting for this since I have been a 7th grader, and we finally have been able to do it after the past 2 years barely missing it. It is just great,” Moore (12) said.
After a couple years of missing the title by a few points, Kampschmidt learned what the team needed to focus on in order to secure a win. The team and coaches created strategies they knew would result in securing points, and that ultimately created a heavy focus on the relays.
“Our goals for the relays were to get top 8 in all the relays, to make it back to the Championship Final. It was definitely the goal going in. We thought we had a good chance,” Kampschmidt said.
The team also changed their mentality from previous years, deciding to go into the meet more carefree with a larger focus on having fun.
“I think we learned a lot last year. Last year we knew we had a chance, and then we kind of freaked out about it.… I think this year the approach was more like ‘We can’t chase points. We just got to be us and have fun and swim hard. Things will kind of take care of themselves. What’s meant to be is meant to be kind of thing.’ And I think for the most part we did a really good job of doing that,” Kamschmidt said
The state win was entirely a team effort from girls, boys, upperclassmen, and lowerclassmen alike. One major contributor was Taryn Ripley, a freshman who scored a total of 12 points after placing 7th in her individual 500 free, earning her the high point for the Highlands girls.
“The energy was so much fun. Everybody was hyped and looking forward to swimming, and the excitement just made it all so much better,” Taryn Ripley (9) said.
Ripley (9) was one of the many swimmers who contributed to all 3 relays: the 200 Medley, 200 Free Relay, and the 400 Free Relay.
“The girls’ finals were amazing… The boys brought a ton of energy and the 400 free relay was amazing, because it was the same four members [Ella Kate Reynolds (9), Taryn Ripley (9), Keria Kobida (11), and Ragan Moore (12] who swam it as a 200 free relay, and we were coming off high from that 3rd place … and every one was glad to carry the energy and finish it off strong,” Ripley (9) said.
Reed Spaulding (8) also helped contribute to the State win, swimming on the finals relays with all upperclassmen, and placing 17th in the State for his 100 fly.
“It was cool to be a part of something big,” Spaulding (8) said
The Birds would go on to win with 272.5 points combined: 139 boys, and 133.5 girls. Almost an equal contribution from both teams. Tinkler (12) placed 6th in diving, earning 13 points and ending on what would be one of her best performances. All relays ended up placing top 6, and the girls’ 400 free relay would finish 3rd with Keira Kobida as the anchor, going a best time of 52.4, officially finishing the season off strong and sealing the win.
“It means a lot. It really shows that our hard work has finally paid off, and I think we really wanted to do this for Coach K, and just show him that, ‘Like this is for you. You did this for us, and you brought us here,” said Tinkler
Finally, the Class of 2026 gained its State Title.
“It means everything. I mean, I was in 6th grade the last time that we won, so I was one year away from being on the team…winning state was the best we could do, and that’s what we came out here to do. It’s been the accumulation of 6 years of swimming for everybody, and to do it senior year really means a lot to me,” Gracey (12) said.
