Marist looks to remain 'consistent' coming off win over Westminster
As student athletes returned school this week following the holiday break, sports teams that took time off were back in action this week and on Thursday, the Marist War Eagles swim and dive team hosted the Westminster Wildcats. And while these two teams are no strangers to one another, as two of the top programs in Georgia, Thursday's showdown in the water gave a brief preview of the battles to come between the two as new region alignments and reclassification within the Georgia High School Association will have Marist and Westminster as region rivals next season.
In Thursday's showdown, the War Eagles would take home team wins in both the girls and boys side as the Lady War Eagles got the win with 180 points to Westminster's 133, while on the boys side, Marist would get the win, but the margin of victory would be much closer as the War Eagles held on to win 155-150. Following the meet, Marist head coach Christopher Marshall, praised his swimmers and divers for their performance in Thursday's win as they returned from break and begin to set their sights on the GHSA state championship meet.
"We have a lot of young kids, a lot of 9th graders who are having to step up and find themselves and become not boys, but men and on the girls' side we do a really good job of getting kids that don't swim year round, aren't on club teams, to achieve higher than they expected. So we've got some kids that are just over achieving right now," Marshall said. Now as the War Eagles begin to start preparing for the state title meet, Marshall believes that "we just have to keep doing what we're doing. We have to be consistent and focused on what we're doing," Marshall said.
And with the holiday break behind them and roughly 30 days before the state meet, Marshall noted that he understands the level of commitment his swimmers and divers have to not only the classroom and various aspects of campus life, he believes that as long as they "stay focused for four weeks and go out and compete," the War Eagles can find the success they seek in the coming weeks.
