The St. Louis U. High swim and dive team won its tenth straight MCC title with a dominant performance over its MCC rivals on Nov. 4. 

“It’s become so routine at this point,” head coach Lindsey Ehret said. “The energy was really low so it kind of made it hard for guys to swim really well.”

One of the more notable races came from junior Ned Mehmeti, who swam his best times of the season in the 500-yard freestyle and 200 individual medley—two events he will swim in at the state championship meet.

“I wasn't seeded that high in the state rankings and that needed to change,” Mehmeti said. “I continued to practice hard and it paid off well.”

“He was not rested, he had about one day of rest, but he swam his best times of the season,” Ehret said. “He decided he wanted to win (the 500 freestyle) and just did it.”

After ten straight MCC titles and back-to-back state championships, it is no surprise Ehret and her team had their eyes on a bigger prize: a three-peat. This Friday, Nov. 13, the Jr. Bills will head to the St. Peter’s Rec-Plex in hopes of becoming the fifth team in SLUH history to claim the state title.

Just as Ehret expected, many swimmers on the cusp of the 24th spot—the last possible placement in order to race at the state meet—moved up as other swimmers exceeded the number of races they can participate in.

“We had a couple kids on the bubble—Aidan Brawer, Gavin Baldes, Brendan Schroeder, Brody Nester, Jason Cabra—that moved in, so we’ve got about six more swims than we had expected going into the state meet,” Ehret said. “You can do a lot of things with those extra swimmers.”

Only the top 16 swimmers from a certain event can add points to a team’s score, but even with many not quite at the 16th spot, Ehret has lots of trust in what her swimmers can achieve.

“These kids can do amazing things when they race. If there’s one thing this team loves to do, it’s race and win things, so I’m excited to see that animal come out.”

Despite the many high points of the Jr. Bills’ season, there are still some concerns about the state meet Friday. With COVID-19 restrictions much stricter in St. Louis than the rest of the state, SLUH has raced in only nine meets and started two weeks later than usual. The other parts of the state, notably Kansas City, were allowed to begin practicing in the first two weeks and to compete in more meets than teams in St. Louis.

“Kansas City and the rest of the state haven’t been impacted by COVID as much as we have,” Ehret said. “We normally have about 16 total meets, and we had just nine this year. That’s a huge amount of missed opportunity for our guys.”

An initial estimate for the state meet, based solely on where SLUH’s swimmers place in their best times, has SLUH finishing fourth in the state. However, prior state meets coupled with the lack of meets complicates this estimate.

“Usually our guys have been underdogs, and I think it really helps motivate the guys. They seem to do well under that type of pressure,” Ehret said.

Despite many obstacles, like the loss of their home pool at Forest Park Community College, 8:30 p.m. practices, and fewer races, the Jr. Bills are still in a great spot to place well in the state meet. SLUH will have swimmers eligible to score points in each event but the 200 freestyle. In those races, SLUH has at least two swimmers eligible in all but the 100 backstroke. Points can also be scored from the three relays and in diving with junior Sebastian Lawrence, whom Ehret referred to as the “best diver in the state.”

“My pep speech to the guys is go down and look at that list of obstacles, but win anyways. Look at everything we’ve been through and realize we’re still going to be really close to the top.”

With COVID-19 cases reaching record highs in Missouri and in St. Louis, Ehret has been surprised at the lack of protocols heading into the state meet.

“There’s going to be 261 athletes, and at this point with the cases, I’m still a bit nervous about it,” she said. “People are coming in from all over the state and I just wish that everyone were tested beforehand.”

The state championship meet will not be open to spectators, but will be livestreamed on MSHSAA’s website for a $10 fee. The meet will begin at 3:30 p.m. 

“I put my trust into Coach Ehret to help us perform well, and hopefully get us the three-peat,” Mehmeti said.