Those three have stepped up to fill the void Katie left. Losing Katie could have been a blow to our program, but those three have kept the morale high.

It had to be done. We're down to one sixth-grade class, one fifth. They're cutting sections because we're losing kids.

The fact that we still went hard in practice last week makes those times even better. At state we might see some even more outstanding times.

We'll have to improve in the medley to get to finals. But the girls have had a great week, and I think they can do it.

The split differences between some of our girls are a matter of one-hundredth of a second. We probably won't know what those teams will be until Friday.

These are not songs for women who twirl their parasols. These are songs for women who get dusty.