Bryce Vatnsdal has been diving for a short three years. While that may not be a very long time in the sports world, Vatnsdal dove into the pool with full confidence.
His diving goals were simple- add his name onto the record board. This record board is located at the BSC aquatic center pool deck, where thousands of people walk by each day.
“I’ve looked at that board since my sophomore year,” Vatnsdal said. “I knew I wanted to go further than that and break that record.”
So he did.
The week leading up to senior night, Vatnsdal practiced his six dives for the Thursday night meet in order to perfect them and meet his goal. On Feburary 15th, a new six-dive BHS school record of 271.1 was placed.
Vatnsdal broke the previous six-dive record set in 1998 by six points.
“Six points isn’t a whole lot,” Vatnsdal said. “It depends on the level, but it’s not a lot.”
Even though it might not have been “a whole lot,” Vatnsdal’s success on senior night set the tone for the upcoming state meet. His record dives just a few weeks prior jumped the mindset of his teammates. At the state boy’s swim and dive meet, the 200 medley relay, consisting of – junior Sam Eggl, senior Garret Wick, senior Noah Zaidi and junior Blake Nelson- secured the state title and new school record.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling,” Zaidi said. “It’s really cool that it was all four of us since we practiced this same relay for a long time.”
Zaidi went third in the relay, swimming butterfly. Nelson finished the relay with freestyle – 0.1 seconds before the other teams.
“During the race I was just focused on what I needed to do while going as fast as possible,” Zaidi said. “Beating the other team by 0.1 is a pretty crazy occurrence, especially since both teams broke the original state record. It was very scary, but also at the same time really exhilarating to see our time flash on the board. First.”
(Left to right) Bryce Vatnsdal, Sam Eggl. Blake Nelson, Noah Zaidi, Garrett Wick)
The record breaking meet did not stop after the first race. Nelson has been swimming for nine years, and as a junior, broke the pool record, school record and state record in the 200 freestyle. On top of his other wins, Nelson also secured the 100 backstroke state and school record.
“I want to break the records again next year with better times,” Nelson said. “I want to get better for the future me.”
However, for athletes like Zaidi, Wick andVatnsdal, this state meet means the finish to their swimming careers.
“Ending my senior season with that race was amazing,” Zaidi said. “I didn’t know how to swim when I first joined the sport and it has been cool to see the growth from start to finish.”
