Freshman Lucia Chapell was the lone Glacier Bear to compete at the state swim meet in Anchorage Nov. 5-6. The Bartlett High School pool was packed with athletes and cheering spectators. Chapell was on one set of bleachers with all of the Southeast teams.
Chapell competed in the preliminary heat on Nov. 5. She said she didn’t set a personal record, but stayed within a second of her best time.
“I would’ve liked to set a personal best or place better at state,” said Chapell, “but I still swam hard and had fun competing.”
Unlike most sports, swimming is not divided by school size. Chapell competed against the whole state.
Chapell traveled to state with her mom and dad. She didn’t have a coach or her teammates to cheer her on. She said she really missed her teammates at state, but she was happy her parents came.
“I liked having my parents there,” said Chapell. “It was nice to have that support when I didn’t have any of my other teammates.”
Sara Chapell, Lucia’s mother, said it was incredible to watch her daughter swim at state. “It’s really exciting to see Lucia’s hard work pay off this season.” “The team was a great motivator and her coaches were incredible. I hope the high school swim team will continue to build so we see more swimmers at state next year.”
Chapell said she is happy with her performance this season. She said her goal for next season is to qualify for state finals. Chapell said she is going to swim more often and do weightlifting in the off-season to achieve that goal.
Chapell competed alongside Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Lydia Jacoby and Olympic athlete Jillian Crooks. Chapell said it was a great opportunity to be able to warm up with these athletes. “It was really exciting to watch them compete,” said Chapell. “It’s always fun to watch really fast swimmers.”
The next high school swim season starts in August 2022.