FILE
The Oxford High swim program has a promising future as many of its 17 swimmers who qualified for this year’s state championship meet happen to be underclassmen.

On Halloween, the Oxford High swim team took their talents to the birthplace of the King of Rock and Roll.

Seventeen OHS swimmers hoped to treat themselves to a state title when they jumped in the pool of the Tupelo Aquatic Center in the hometown of Elvis Presley.

Those 17 completed their warmups and took to the block for their preliminary events.

“In order to make it to the finals, you have to place top eight in your event,” OHS senior girls captain Lulu Field said.

Of the participating members at the meet, three seniors on the team advanced to the finals: Isaac Manly (50-yard freestyle), Lulu Field (50-yard freestyle and 100-yard freestyle) and Jacob Nichols (100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard inter medley).

The OHS girls team placed seventh overall, while their counterparts, the boys squad, finished ninth.

“We got a lot of best times, so it was a pretty successful meet,” Field said.

Despite not finishing in the top five and not having any individual state champions, the state championship meet served as an encouraging sign for the OHS swim program. Many of the OHS swim members who qualified for the state championships were underclassmen.

“It was kind of a learning experience for the younger kids because they’re just starting out,” Nichols said. “I don’t know if they’re expecting to win per se, but now they know what they have to do in order to win.”

The finals races at the state meet were the last events for the three seniors on the OHS team.

“It’s kind of relieving to be done, but at the same time it’s sad. We’re going to miss our teammates,” Nichols said.