By Olivia Solorzano '26
Editor-in-Chief
As the Louisville swimmers dove into the 2026 swim season, the competition became more challenging as they trained to reach the league prelims and league finals. Each meet they competed in their different events to beat their PRs.
The team worked hard in relay races and individuals practiced each of their events. With such a short season, practice is key for the swimmers to get better and faster.
On March 31, the swim team competed against Alemany and Chaminade at Crespi for their last meet of the season before the league preliminary rounds. Everyone’s energy was high knowing that their season was coming to an end, especially the seniors.
The seniors next meet would be their senior night, where they would be honored for all their hard work and dedication that they had put towards the team. They have been great role models for the younger swimmers and showed what leadership should look like.
During the meet it was cloudy out and it eventually started to rain mid-way through. Due to the rain, they had to combine some of the races with the boys from the competing schools. Although that may seem like a challenge and at times scary, the girls were ready to step up and race against them. This made the meet extra competitive, but also special. They were able to prove that they could keep up with the boys which made them push themselves even harder.
As the races began, the swimmers jumped off their blocks and pushed themselves hard to place in their events. Lauren Kelly ’27 competed in the 100 butterfly and placed second. Later on, Camilla Stoyan ’27 placed second as well in the 100 backstroke. That was not all for the Royals, as Robyn Bowling ’28 placed first place in the 200 IM. The IM is even more tough due to the swimmer having to use all four strokes in order. The strokes are the butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, and freestyle.
Each race was close and the Royals worked hard to face off to their best of their abilities until the very end of each race. The team supported and challenged each other to be better as they competed. Many family and friends also attended this meet which made it feel even more special and heartfelt. You could feel the excitement as people cheered for each of the people in their races.
Next for the Royals, they will compete in the league prelims that take place at Crespi. They will go against a variety of schools in the Mission League, whom they have competed against all season. Some competing schools include Harvard Westlake, Chaminade, Notre Dame and more. Additionally, the top swimmers who qualify will go off and compete in the league finals, which also takes place at Crespi on April 30.
Congratulations Royals and keep up the hard work!