As we enter the last few months of 2025, the winter sporting season is ramping up. One in particular is our WKHS Swim & Dive Team! To learn more about the program as a whole, The Ravine spoke with senior captains Grady Fuller and Claire Renneker.
This season, both Fuller and Renneker are captains and take on more responsibilities than before. To Fuller, being a captain means he has to “work the hardest in practice and set the example so [they] have a dedicated team in years to come.” He also communicates more in depth with the coaches and acts as a leader for the new swimmers on the team. Similarly, Renneker shares how she aims to “make it feel more like a unified team sport by planning lots of team bonding activities.” She states her “main responsibility is maintaining a positive team during the season because the training can be really mentally exhausting, so encouraging the team is very important.”
Preparing for the season looks a little bit different for the swim team. Claire Renneker states how they “don’t really ‘prepare’ for the season in a typical way because once the season starts, the training starts.” They “train for about a month and a half before meets start up” and “maintain the same training schedule and style throughout the season.” Grady Fuller says he prepares for the season by “getting enough sleep, eating right, and making sure that [he] gets in the water before the season starts to get used to swimming again.”
Fuller has been “swimming since [he] was 6 or 7” and continues to enjoy the sport because of how “rewarding it is to finish a practice or a race.” His favorite memory from his entire swimming career at WKHS was his “freshman year at districts.” Fuller shared how he “never thought [he] would make districts, but [he] did, and got to swim.” Being able to “cheer on [his] teammates for relays and events” was another favorite of Fuller’s, “especially watching the 4×100 Freestyle relay” and getting to see “Nate, Ben, Chris, and Dexter, go their fastest time ever.”
Looking back on her time as a swimmer at WKHS, Renneker says that she “has a more optimistic outlook on the sport.” She expresses how “although it’s really mentally and physically exhausting, [she] views it as more of a privilege to be a part of the team.” Renneker emphasizes how her favorite memories were the times she spent outside of the pool. “Getting food after practice, hanging out in hotel lobbies during away meets and training trips, movie nights with the girls, and team dinners” are the memories that will stay with Renneker even after she leaves WKHS.
