At the sound of the buzzer, junior Robert Slaughter jumps into the water and races to beat the clock. At state, on February 21^st and 22^nd, the swim team placed 3^rd overall in the competition, with the help of Slaughter placing 1^st in two of his four events at the meet.

Slaughter placed in two of his events, giving the team an advantage in their overall standings at state.

“I placed first in the 50 free and my relay team got first in the 400 free relay well,” he said.

Placing 1^st in half of his events was an exhilarating moment for Slaughter.

“It felt really good to place first in two of my events,” he said. “It was a big accomplishment of mine and I was very excited to have won.”

The two events Slaughter placed 1^st in were not the only events that he competed in. At the meet Slaughter partook in two other races.

“Other than the 50 free and the 400 free relay, I competed in the 200 medley relay, and the 200 free relay,” he said.

Of all the races that Slaughter competed in that day, there was one race that he was most prepared and excited for.

“My favorite event to compete in is the 50 free because it’s fast race,” he said.

Preparation for races in an important meet, like state, takes a lot of mental preparation, which is just what Slaughter did before his events.

“To prep for the meet or event, I listened to music and got into my zone,” he said.

Being a swimmer isn’t just about personal preparation, the other swimmers on the team helped each other with their event so each athlete can do their best in each race.

“My team helped me prepare for state mainly through team bonding. We all got together and worked on our events,” he said.

Due to his success as a swimmer in high school, Slaughter has high hopes about his future swimming career.

“I’m thinking about swimming in college, and then hopefully I’ll be swimming in the Olympics one day,” he said.