The Sion swim and dive team were stranded in the middle of Boonville, Mo. on their way home from a varsity invitational in St. Louis on Saturday night. They were unable to make the journey home because of the snowy weather conditions. Seven team members along with coaches Paul Winkeler, Steve Robbins, and Becky Hayden stayed in the nearby Days Inn, fearful that the icy roads would be too dangerous.

“It was an experience,” swim team senior Christina Santer said. “Most of us thought the other guests were a little out of the ordinary, so we locked our doors tight and stacked as many chairs as we could find.”

Making the best of the situation, Santner said that all of the remaining team members enjoyed ‘hot tubbin it up’ at the indoor swimming pool. A two day invitational that included a preliminary and finals round didn’t stop this team from getting back in the water.

Despite the extra night away from home and the precautious measures, the swim and dive team enjoyed their successes they gained at the Parkway South Swim and Dive Invitational. The team came in third out of 13 teams, and placed in the finals in the 400 free relay, medley relay, and 200 free relay, as well as diving.

“It was a battle to get third place,” team captain Laura Klover said. “But, we were able to make it happen.”

According to Winkeler, the Parkway South Invitational has the most competitive teams next to the MSHAA State Competition. Achieving third place was proof, he said, that they had the skill and determination to “be in the running” for State.