There was plenty of commotion in and out of the water Saturday during the annual South Dakota Short Course State Championship Swim Meet at the Aberdeen Family Y.
Fans lined up four rows deep around the pool were cheering on their favorite swimmers.
"We've got 16 teams here, a lot of excited kids, a lot of kids who made the state meet for the first time," said co-meet director Mike Hogg of Aberdeen. "We've got some excited parents. There's a big crowd. We just love putting on this meet for the kids."
With hundreds of people in a small area yelling at the top of their lungs, there was no place for the sound to escape. As a result, the noise was near deafening.
"Sometimes you think you'd want to wear some ear plugs, but it's kind of the atmosphere when you go to these swim meets," Hogg explained. "People get excited -- a loud echo in a pool area, but you get used to it and we have a lot of fun."
Hogg said the state indoor meet is set up on a rotation and Aberdeen gets to host the event about once every 5 to 7 years.
"It's been a lot of hard work," he said. "We've got a tremendous team of volunteers. We take pride in the meets that we put on. We try and do our best."
Action resumes at 8:45 a.m. today.
Tuning out the noise
Despite spectators cheering at a fever pitch, 9-year-old Katelyn Harris of Aberdeen said she doesn't even pay attention to the noise.
Instead, Harris focuses more on the competition at the state event, "because it's much harder than other meets."
Harris competed Saturday morning and was finished for the day about 11 a.m.
While Harris enjoys swimming, she was also pleased that she was finished competing for the day.
"I'm happy that I got it done with," Harris said.
Fond of purple
It was easy to spot Liz Willis of Rapid City on Saturday. The assistant coach for the Greater Rapid City Ellsworth squad was decked out in purple from head to toe.
The Northern State grad had a custom-made purple derby hat on, purple beads, a watch with a purple band, purple tennis shoes, had a purple backpack and wrote with a pen that contained purple ink.
"Purple is my favorite color," said Willis, who said she also has a purple toaster at home.
Willis said she loves being a part of swim meets, no matter what the location.
"It's been a great time to be here. A good meet. I enjoy it," Willis said. "It's a lot of fun."
By the way, the squad from the Black Hills has a stellar acronym for the team. It is GREAT, which stands for Greater Rapid Ellsworth Aquatic Team.
Birds-eye view
One of the spectators perched high above the action on Saturday was Heidi Pinn of Sioux Falls. The mother of two swimmers said she divides time between a location upstairs and a spot next to the pool.
"I'm usually down there hollering and screaming," Pinn said. "You can see better up here."
Pinn said her location actually depends on which of her children is in the water.
"The older one doesn't hear me, so I might as well be up here," she said. "The little one wants me to cheer at the end of the pool."
Taking one for the team
Judah Aderhold was nowhere near a pool this past week, but mustered enough strength to help his relay team win a state championship Saturday morning.
The 12-year-old from Aberdeen overcame a weeklong illness to swim the opening leg on the winning boys' 11-12 200-yard freestyle relay team. The other members are Matthew Grebner, Noah Knapp and Christopher Erickson.
"I've been sick since Monday," Aderhold said. "It's the state meet and I just wanted to swim."
Aderhold, who has been part of state championship relay squads before, said there is something special about winning a state title.
"It feels good. It's exciting to win at state," he said. "We've got some great swimmers on our team."
Pulling double duty
Joseph Kelly of Yankton found himself performing in and out of the pool on Saturday.
The 15-year-old member of the Yankton Swim Team was part of a group that sang the National Anthem before the second session.
When asked which is more nerve-racking -- singing or swimming -- the all-state chorus member said, "Probably more nervous for singing, because (in) swimming there's eight other people that the audience can watch instead of you."
Kelly said his best event is the 100-meter butterfly.
While some people sing in the shower, Kelly said he has sung in the pool.
But has he ever tried singing the National Anthem while swimming?
"It probably wouldn't sound very good," he said.
Pierre pool power
It has already been a memorable winter for Pierre athletic teams. The Governors recently won their first conference boys' basketball championship since 1982, last weekend won their second straight State A wrestling title, and the school's girls' basketball squad has had a solid season. To top it all off, the Pierre Swim Team qualified more members for the state meet this weekend than any other team.
"I think the key for us has been consistency over the last few years with the same coaching staff," said Pierre coach Kent Huckins. "All of our coaches are involved with youth in some other way outside of the swim team."
Huckins said the swim team does compete with other sports, but also understands that kids need to be well-rounded.
"One of the things is we're a little bit flexible and understand that kids have a variety of things to choose from," Huckins said. "We kind of try and work with families and work with those children on allowing them to mix both sports."
In fact, Huckins said most of the sports teams in Pierre support each other instead of trying to compete against each other.
"I try to support the kids in other activities they're doing," he said. "I go watch them in some of their other activities -- whether it be cross country, or basketball, or dance recitals. I think that's something too that leads to kids wanting to participate and stick with the sport."
And in the end, Pierre is having a banner year, whether on the wrestling mat, basketball floor or the swimming pool.
"We had a really great session this morning with our younger kids," Huckins said. "I couldn't have been happier with the way they swam today. The future of swimming looks good in Pierre."