Sometimes a small change can have big implications. Such it is with Lindbergh’s drop from 3A to 2A. The change has given the girls swim team a spark and made postseason goals more attainable.
“The kids are excited,” said Lindbergh coach Roger Miron. “They’re working hard and this could be one of the better girls teams we’ve had.”
Miron said Lindbergh’s drop from 3A to 2A this year energized the team and improved offseason work ethic.
“The girls all came into the season in shape, rather than wasting two or three weeks getting into shape,” Miron said. “Some of our higher-end JV swimmers last year are on the cusp of district times… Our captains are making this team gel.”
The captains this season are Krista Waffle and Karlie Pfluger. Between the captains and fellow senior Savannah Lemke, who made the 3A state meet in the 100 fly and 200 individual medley last season, Lindbergh is getting quite a bit of impact from just five total seniors.
After losing six seniors last year, Lindbergh has 25 swimmers and one diver this season. Eleven of the athletes are new to the program.
“This is definitely a deep team,” Miron said. “Our relays are hopefully going to be on the cusp of state qualification or allocating into state.”
Miron wanted to start this season against 2A competition, to get the Eagles used to what they would see in the postseason. The result was a 3-0 run and the team gaining confidence.
“We’re feeling pretty confident after scouting out some other 2A schools,” Miron said. “After looking at the other schools, our team seems a little bit bigger than the rest of them we’ve faced. I’m really hoping to make our presence felt at the district meet this year.”
Lindbergh already has a number of swimmers with district qualifying times and it’s Miron’s goal to get 12-14 into the postseason meet. All things considered it’s been quite a turnaround for the Eagles in both attitude and record. The team went 1-3 to start the season last year.
Miron expects the Eagles to fit in third in the Seamount behind Kennedy Catholic and Hazen.
