HS Swimming Senior Day
While our MS swimming team was putting its stamp on the HVAC Championship across town, the HS swimming Tigers took over Centennial Sportsplex on Saturday evening for our Senior intrasquad met. This was, first and foremost, an opportunity to honor our class of 2021, who have left their mark on our swimming team in ways big and small. The class of 2021 includes:
-Lauren French, a 4-year state qualifier (who has raced from the 50 freestyle all the way up to the 500 freestyle at the state level) who won our Most Improved Award as a junior and swam on our state finalist 400 freestyle relay last year
-Lucy Mauries, a 4-year member of the team and 2-year member of the State team who, along with being a major part of our 'A' relays, has designed our team suits and shirts.
-Harper Johnston, who joined the team as a sophomore and became an important piece of our division championship team and a relay-only swimmer at State last year.
-Stefan Pretorius, a 4-year state qualifier who won our Most Improved Award as a freshman and as a junior anchored our state-finalist 200 freestyle relay.
-Sage Sasaki, who has swum every stroke on our ‘A’ relays, is #2 on our all-time Top 10 list in the 200 individual medley, and elevated the training of our entire team this season.
-Wyatt Washko, whose progress and work ethic in the mid-distance freestyles earned him the Most Improved Award as a sophomore, and as a junior set the tone for the entire team’s successful Region meet with his unforgettable 200 freestyle.
We swam the events out of order and gave every swimmer 2-3 races to compete in, which was a challenge in a quick meet like this one.
On the girls’ side, the freestyle depth has looked impressive in theory all year long, and it was neat to see this depth actually materialize all in one place. Lauren French and Caroline Cramer both picked up new State cuts in the 100 freestyle, finishing within tenths of the 1:00 barrier and trailing Kursten Griffin’s first place time of 56.5.
Meanwhile, Kursten’s leading time of 25.5 was joined by two other state-qualifying swimmers in the 50 freestyle, with Kara Grace Hess and Olivia Schwarz finishing in 25.9 and 26.7, respectively. Notably, Kara Grace’s season best time earned her a place on the USN all-time top 10 list.
Kursten also swam a high school-best in the 100 backstroke, which moved her up to 4th on the USN top 10 list. Olivia was just shy of the top-10 list in multiple events and looks primed to have excellent opportunities at state in just about anything.
On the girls’ side, the freestyle depth has looked impressive in theory all year long, and it was neat to see this depth actually materialize all in one place. Lauren French and Caroline Cramer both picked up new State cuts in the 100 freestyle, finishing within tenths of the 1:00 barrier and trailing Kursten Griffin’s first place time of 56.5.
Meanwhile, Kursten’s leading time of 25.5 was joined by two other state-qualifying swimmers in the 50 freestyle, with Kara Grace Hess and Olivia Schwarz finishing in 25.9 and 26.7, respectively. Notably, Kara Grace’s season best time earned her a place on the USN all-time top 10 list.
Kursten also swam a high school-best in the 100 backstroke, which moved her up to 4th on the USN top 10 list. Olivia was just shy of the top-10 list in multiple events and looks primed to have excellent opportunities at state in just about anything.
Stefan Pretorius was the boys’ standout performer of the day, swimming three lifetime bests in three races. In the 50 freestyle, he dropped from 22.94 to 22.26, moving him up to third all-time on the USN all-time Top 10 list. In the 200 freestyle, he dropped ten seconds, from 1:59 to 1:49.6, which makes him the fourth fastest 200 freestyler in school history. And finally, his 100 backstroke dropped from 56.8 to 56.4.
William Grobmyer also punched his ticket to the state meet in both the 50 freestyle and 100 freestyle, with best times (23.6 and 51.2) in both.
Other impressive swims came from: Owen Block, who finished his season with two lifetime bests in the 50 free and 100 breaststroke; Wyatt Washko, who swam a big lifetime best in the 50 freestyle; Isaac Spiller, who improved his lifetime best in the 100 breaststroke by over 10 seconds; Jacob Rothman, who swam the 500 freestyle all alone and was still just of his best time, then followed it up with best times in the 100 breaststroke and 100 butterfly minutes later.
The meet ended with the senior-organized class relays. And fittingly, the senior class’ team of five brought home the victory. All in all, it was a very fitting and amazingly energetic end to the senior sendoff.
Moving forward, some of our roster will transition to spring sports, and others will continue on with plans of competing at (and hopes for qualifying for) the State meet in April. Thank you to all our amazing parent volunteers for showing up to recognize the seniors and run our meet – we could not have done it without you.
More USN News
List of 3 news stories.
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Ava ’26 recognized by National Council of Teachers of English
Congratulations to the rising senior, who has been selected for a 2025 Achievement Award in Writing by the National Council of Teachers of English.Read More -
Retired faculty, staff return to USN
As part of a longstanding tradition, retired teachers and professionals from USN over the years came together to celebrate, connect, and reminisce during their annual luncheon in Durnan Auditorium.Read More -
Athletes beyond Edgehill
Read MoreIt is common to have five or more University School of Nashville student-athletes sign college athletic commitment letters each year, and this year, USN saw eight more student-athletes commit to continue their athletic careers at the collegiate level. USN has several alumni participating in their chosen sport at the collegiate level from the Classes of 2021 through 2025. Continue reading to learn more about where Tigers are competing beyond Edgehill.
Contact
Edgehill Campus
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Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
2000 Edgehill Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
Phone: 615-321-8000
Fax: 615-321-0889
Email: info@usn.org
River Campus
1200 County Hospital Road
Nashville, TN 37218
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University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.