Diving into the second day of the TISCA 5A invitational, 13 swimmers have qualified for finals on Saturday, in the three day swim and dive event at the Bruce Eubanks Natatorium.

“I hope that they have fun, but have a great attitude and mindset,” head swim coach Zachariah Gnoza said. “Finals can be tough on an athlete’s mindset, they must race hard. They all have been working extremely hard to get here.”

With only the top 16 swimmers from each event advancing to finals, freshman Izabella Oushalkas is excited to have made finals for all four of her events she competed in.

“I qualified for the 50 free and 100 fly, and my two relays also qualified the 400 free and 200 medley,” Oushalkas said. “This is a super important meet for me as it is my first high school TISCA, I’m super excited. I have been preparing by making sure I’m being a good team player in my relays. ”

With the district meet  in January, this meet is a good gauge of competition according to Gnoza.

“We will be competing against some of the best schools in the state,” Gnoza said. “I am hoping to have the athletes get a good look at their future competition as we gear up for our championship season.”