Youth swimming: Superior Whalers win state meet

The Superior YMCA Whalers Swim Team took home its first state championship in February.

Previously, the team's highest finish was second, according to the trophy case at the YMCA, head coach Stefan Pagnucci said. The Whalers have finished third several times, including two of the last three years.

"It feels amazing," Pagnucci said of the state title. "The way we structure entries makes every single swimmer vital to winning this team award. Having an inclusive mindset, and challenging kids to do some really tough events and face some really tough competition, makes this so much sweeter.

"This team grew to the championship level it is because of the kids, the parents, the coaches, the YMCA administration, and the community support, so we did this together," the coach said.

The state meet Feb. 20-27 was held virtually. The format posed some challenges, but went well overall.

"We had kids cheering through their masks on the pool deck, and the lap pool was very loud in all the good ways," Pagnucci said. "What’s toughest is not truly having the competition, besides your own team, right there.

"Especially for your kids who are vying for first place in an event, it’s easier to have that competitor in the lane next to you and beat them to the wall. That’s much harder to replicate, virtually," Pagnucci said. "They have to find it in their mindset to power to the wall, and I’d say our swimmers did a great job of doing exactly that."

Twenty-one Whalers are practicing to compete in the North Central YMCA Regional Championship meet — a time qualification-based championship swim meet — March 19-21 in Des Moines.