Willows tests waters at Winters

The five-member Willows High swim team competed against Orland, Gridley and Winters in a meet swam Sept. 14 in Winters, with a number of strong showings.

"This team is made up of a lone senior and four freshmen and so far, this group has been improving quickly," said Willows coach Tater Parham. "This group is posting some good swims early in the season. What's even more impressive about this group, they travel more than 80 miles a day, three days a week and one day doing dry land work."

While they may be small in numbers, the squad's lack of depth has done little to deter them. "The odds are against them, they don't have a home pool or overwhelming support but they continue to succeed," the coach said. "They are a tough and gutsy group of student-athletes."

Kasey Foley ruled the pool in the boys 200-yard freestyle, touching in 1:53.32.

Willows also finished first and second in the girls 100-butterfly, with Molly Bateman setting the pace at 1:05.15, followed by Veronica Foley in 1:09.37. Bateman also set the time to beat in the 100-backstroke, winning with a time of 1:06.35.

Veronica Foley earned a first place in the 100-freestyle, covering the distance in 1:01.01, with teammate Jazmin Hernandez posting a 1:16.11 for sixth. Hernandez also took fourth in the 100-breaststroke, with a 1:28.97 performance.

Noah Parham stroked his way to a pair of second-place finishes, with a 1:01.70 in the 100-butterfly, and a 1:10.90, matching his personal best in the 100-breaststroke.

In the 100-freestyle, Kasey Foley came in 2nd with a 49.87, which established a new school record for the event.

"This is quite an accomplishment to be able to break the 50-second barrier for four lengths of the pool, and only being the second meet of the season," coach Parham said.