Submitted Photo
Minot High Majettes swimmers Ava Williamson, left. Ella Kessler and Sam VonBokern pose at practice in the Minot High pool. Photo by Emily Jensen, Minot High.
The Minot High Girls’ swim team is nothing but dedicated.
For more than four decades each swimmer who has joined the team has given her all, showing a love for the sport and a drive to win while earning more than 22 championships and setting more than 12 swimming records. They have created a legacy of success that continues to this day with a team comprised of champions including both student athletes and the head coach herself.
“There is something to be said about all the award banners hanging on the school’s pool walls,” said head coach Emily Jensen. “It’s fun for the coaching staff because we were all on state championship teams. Twenty years ago was my high school graduating year when I was on the team and Barb McPeak, our diving coach, dove for Minot High as well.”
In 2003, Jensen, back then going by the name Emily Weeks, would become state champion for Minot High in the 200-yard Individual Medley, a title she holds with pride as she works to help the current category champion Ava Williamson for a repeat to celebrate the 20-year anniversary since the coach’s win.
“It seems like a lifetime ago when that happened,” said Jensen. “It would be cool to have a state champion 20 years later from the same town.”
Such an accomplishment would be great to add to the legacy of Minot High’s Girls’ swim team, who’s been winning meets since the sport’s introduction to the school in 1974 with the earliest in the school’s history being in 1976 with swimmer Bonnie Flickinger in the 50-yard freestyle. Soon after this the wins would start growing in the years to come and eventually Minot High would become a contending team in its own right and start setting records, the first being in 2008 with swimmer Dagny Knutson who would set two records that year in both the 200-yard and 500-yard freestyles.
Now this season has shown a lot of success from the Minot High Girls’ swim team as they currently sit at an overall score of 4-1 and placed first in both the Capital City and Williston Coyote Invites, and according to Jensen this year’s team is the largest that they’ve had in years.
“Our junior class is really big this year,” said Jensen. “We’ve got some defending state champions that will hopefully lead us to another state meet and some great young kids coming up.”
While this year the team does have a large roster that will soon change as many students will start going to the new school that is being finished at Minot North when the school opens for the 2024-25 school term.
“It’s sad to see some of my friends leave and go to the new school,” said Sam VonBokern. “Our numbers may dwindle, but that won’t stop us from being friends and I’m happy that they’re going to have like a new aquatic center that they can enjoy.”
While they wait for the split to take effect the team still works hard to make this season count and bring about a repeat of last year where Minot High had three female swimmers become state champions in three separate Individual categories. Those swimmers are junior Ava Williamson for the 200-yard Individual medley, senior Ella Kesler for Diving, and finally sophomore VonBokern for the 500-yard Freestyle.
“Last year we had a very successful swim meet at state,” said Williamson. “We had three state champions which was a big deal and was fun to celebrate with my team and coaches. We each worked pretty hard for it, and it was cool to see that pay off.”
While celebration is always needed after a successful season, this swim team didn’t get to where they are without participating in serious training that would ensure their success, making sure each swimmer is in peak form for competitions.
“We have lifting in the mornings and afternoon practice so there is a lot of working out,” said Williamson. “This year we’ve also been focusing on our mental strength, which has helped a lot because it is a mental sport and is tough and a positive mindset is very important.”
Training can be difficult for anyone, especially an athlete, so having a drive to win is never enough to keep competing in a certain sport. There is always a “love for the game” so to speak, where you push yourself not just to win but because you love the sport and have always enjoyed it for as long as you can remember and that love can always be seen in this swim team, especially this season.
“I love swimming, I don’t think I can do anything coordination related,” said VonBokern. “I think I began swimming when I was five or six, but I took lessons before that. The earliest memory I have is diving down in the deep end of the pool during lessons for quarters.”
As these swimmers look back and remind themselves of why they swim they continue to work hard and push ahead to keep their team’s legacy alive, all while hoping to enjoy a final season together as a whole and to make their school proud in the process.
