Swimming: Rosary eyes another state title

Kally Fayhee and Olivia Scott lead Rosary, who is attempting defend its state championship.
(Travis Haughton/Beacon News)

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There is no cute motto or slogan for when the Rosary Beads hit the pool next Tuesday. It will be business as usual.

For the last two years, business as usual has been back-to-back state titles.

The Beads return all but one swimmer from last year's title team and are as deep as the ocean.

Junior Olivia Scott is a two-time state champion in the 100-yard butterfly and claimed the state title in the 200-yard individual medley last season, while senior Kally Fayhee won the 500-yard freestyle event. But it is the depth of the Beads that has made them so successful.

"Depth is certainly a strength for us," said Bill Schalz, who has been coaching Rosary since 1991. "We have three or four girls that will probably be under the state qualifying time in the backstroke alone and possibly the butterfly.

"Our depth is what really helps drive us," Schalz continued. "There's competition to make our sectional team that the girls are constantly pushing each other."

Having successfully defended their title once, the Beads are experienced, prepared and motivated to do it all over again. Bringing home the state trophy also brought pride to the school and city. While some might see it as pressure, the Beads view it as motivation.

"I think it will be as difficult as last year, but in a different way," said Fayhee. "I think it's to a different level now, to three-peat. It's making us actually work harder than last year because we know even more teams are working harder to try to beat us. That's making everyone band together."

"We know that we have our school and our community behind us and so many other people," Fayhee added. "That's a huge aspect of it. It's a great feeling knowing that all those people are behind you and it pushes you during practice knowing that you're not just doing it for your school, you're doing it for your community."

Rosary has not lost a dual meet in 10 years and took home every invite trophy last year. The Beads will grind through the regular season with a meticulous routine in preparation for the sectional meet.

"We've got five freshman that are really strong and are pushing us at practice," said junior Mackenzie Powers. "We're always pushing each other at practice and don't let anyone slack off. We always have our goal in mind."

"It's exciting to be in this position," explained Schalz. "No one is going to hand it to us. We're going to have to work hard for this."

Should the Beads stick to business as usual, together they will stand alone.