There is nothing more rewarding for a sports team than their hard work paying off – and the swim team is no exception. Sophomore Kayla Hammer raced in the state championship at the James E. Martin Aquatics Center in Auburn on Friday, Dec.12.

Panting and out of breath from her 50 free, Kayla Hammer looked up at the clock. Excitement flooded her veins and she momentarily forgot about her exhaustion as she realized that her hard work, dedication and her countless number of laps at practice had proved her to be victorious: Hammer made state qualifying time and is going to compete for the state championship.

“I wasn’t sure if I would make the time, because lately I had been barely been reaching 27.4 [seconds],” Hammer said. “When I saw that I made 26.7, I was surprised, relieved and exited that I had finally dropped to 26 after maintaining 27 for over a year.”

Swim coach Trey Standeffer’s supportive coaching and specifically tailored workouts that have helped Hammer excel have paid off.

“I’m excited and very proud of Kayla. She and the whole team worked really hard this year and put in a lot of effort at practice and at the meets,” Standeffer said. “I’m excited that Sparkman got to go back to state. And I’m glad I got to be there and be the coach.”

Hammer placed number 45 out of 72 people – an extremely proud moment for both Standeffer and herself.

“It suddenly hit me that 45th out of 72 was in the middle of the best, and I felt like I had come a very long way from when I started swimming. It felt absolutely amazing,” Hammer said.

Before graduating in 2017, Hammer hopes to make the top ten in at least one state event.

“I will be training all year round – swimming in the winter, spring, summer and fall – to reach top ten,” Hammer said. “If I placed top ten I would feel like all the time spent on swimming was worth it.”