The entire girl’s swim team watched as four incredible girls broke a 6 year old pool record in the 200 medley relay at the Big 9 Championship on September 17th, 2020, at the Mayo High School swimming pool.

Early that afternoon, Annie Wu, Madeline Gau, Ava Gustafson, and Natalie Boorjian prepared for the first event of the Girls Big 9 swimming championship. The first event was the 200 yard medley relay. It wasn’t an ordinary race for the girls because they had a goal in mind of accomplishing a new pool record for that event. At that time, the pool record hadn’t been broken for six years. The girls huddled together with coach Juliet before the race to hear words of encouragement and support.

Their teammates cheered them on, as the girl’s swam like they had never swam before. Annie, a senior, went first with the backstroke, then junior Ava Gustafson swam breaststroke; Madeline Gau, a 7th grader, swam butterfly, and breakout star Natalie Boorjian (sophomore) took it home in the freestyle. The old record was 1:51.89 and the girls swam 1:50.99. They also got first place in the event.

When Natalie touched the wall, everyone erupted in shouts and cheers. Tears were being shed, and hugs were shared. It was a memorable moment for all. Being on the team, I was able to witness the moment as well; however, I couldn’t even watch as Natalie neared the wall. I closed my eyes, and the next thing I heard was screaming. Our team has never been that loud. Looking at the board made me start jumping up and down. Those girls deserved it, and to be a part of that success is an incredible feeling.  

After the race, Natalie Boorijan said, “The relay was awesome. The four of us were training during practice together to get the time, so we definitely felt ready and were all super excited. The best part was hearing the rest of the team cheering – the room was shaking! It was also pretty unique that we have a seventh grader all the way up through a twelfth grader on the relay team.”

Senior Annie Wu described the experience: “I was speechless when our relay finished, and I looked at the time. It was my last time swimming at the Mayo pool, so it was my last shot too. I always admired the girls on the record board and never thought I’d make it up there, so it’s super exciting and humbling that my name will be there next to some of my best friends!!”

Not only was it Annie Wu’s last year on the team, but Madeline Gau’s first year on the team, and they both took it home in style. Madeline is only a 7th grader and already made history. Hopefully, she will be making more in her upcoming years on the team. Remarking on the accomplishment, Madeline said that, “when our relay team got the record, the first thing I thought was ‘wow!’ After Natalie finished, everyone was cheering and super happy. Being on this team was a great experience that I will never forget!”

Succeeding like this had a big impact on Ava Gustafson’s future goals in swimming, as she explained, “This record was something that my relay team was looking forward to, so when it happened, I was absolutely elated. I was a bit surprised at first, but it ended up being one of the best experiences in my swimming career thus far. Being able to have my name up on the record board for a while is something that’s inspiring, which makes me want to break more records.”

Each girl on the relay made all conference for the Big 9 Championship. Annie got top 16 in the 100 butterfly, and top 8 in the 100 backstroke. Ava Gustafson got top 8 in both individuals, 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. Madeline Gau got top 8 in both individuals, 200 IM and 100 butterfly. Natalie Boorjian placed 1st in the 50 freestyle, and 3rd in the 500 freestyle.

Friday, October 23rd, is Section Finals for Girls Swimming. All Rochester teams will be swimming at the Rochester Recreational Center at 6 pm. Spectators aren’t allowed, but the meet will be streamed through rochesterswimming.com. Mayo is expected to perform well at the meet, and it will be interesting to see how everyone will swim with more competition. Tune in Friday to watch the record relay swim, and see the Mayo Spartans dominate the meet.