Julie Willis Quotations

I think the boys team next year will be a lot better. They were very disappointed in themselves for not qualifying to district because they worked so hard and they really put in a lot of extra effort. We'll be getting a couple freshmen which will add a lot to the team. I think next year we'll see a lot of boys qualify to district.

Marty Dillinger and James Rucker -- the two of them knew they wanted to beat their personal-best times, and you could tell. They put everything they had into their races.

We have been waiting forever for this game. It's our job to come here and cheer on the team. If we leave and can still talk, we haven't done our job.

They did well. It was at a different site this year so that took a little getting used to. I thought they did the best they could. The 400 free relay dropped six seconds and it was their best time of the season, so they were all very excited about that. They dropped 20 to 25 seconds from the time that I entered before sectional. I was very pleased.

At this point, it's still very wide open. Our district is always changing -- some events could be 10 seconds faster this year -- you just never know.

They swam their hearts out and then found out they were disqualified, so that was tough.

I was very excited for Melissa Fuller. She's been working really hard. I haven't put her in the 100 free as much as she would like, so she was excited and definitely proved that she deserves to be in the 100 free. Michelle McCarty swam the 500 for only the second time for the high school team. She begged me not to put her in it, but she followed everything I told her to do and she just gave it her all and was able to make it.

I don't know what freshmen will be coming in, but it should be a good team next year. I was very pleased with the progress. I look back on the start of the season and it was basic techniques. By the end, they had come along very well.