LAKE STEVENS – When sisters Rachael and Tarryn Simmons learned they were moving from the Southern California desert to the Pacific Northwest, they hoped their new high school would be a good fit.
As it turns out, they couldn’t have fit in any better.
Both swimmers since childhood, Rachael, a junior, and Tarryn, a freshman, quickly found a welcoming family atmosphere on the Lake Stevens High School girls swim team. They’re now part of a special sisterhood that will have the Vikings’ opponents seeing double this season. Rachael and Tarryn are one of five sets of sisters making a splash for Lake Stevens this fall.
Rachael, who swims distance freestyle events, said she immediately felt accepted.
“The team is really welcoming to everyone, and it’s always nice to come to a new team and feel like you fit in right away,” she said. “It’s kind of a nice having sisters on the team because it’s more of a family-oriented thing. In Southern California, they weren’t as welcoming. … I could definitely tell a difference.”
Lake Stevens coach Sarah Summers is starting her 10th season guiding the Vikings with co-coach Erin Miller. Summers, who swam with her sister, Susan, from 1982-83 at Renton’s Lindbergh High, said the sibling aspect enhances team unity.
“It just creates more of a sense of camaraderie,” Summers said. “The fact that we have sisters on the team, it creates a better atmosphere than we’d have otherwise.”
Four of the sisters are freshmen. The older girls help their younger siblings feel included to make sure their transition to high school is less traumatic, Summers said.
“We have a high school of 2,300 kids, and it’s hard to find your niche,” Summers said. “Hopefully, the girls are finding that niche and have a place to be supported.”
The other Vikings sister sets are: Caitlin (sr. co-captain) and Olivia Craggs (soph.); Michelle (jr.) and Kelly Healey (fr. diver); Brittany (soph.) and Ashley Wolcott (fr.); and Alyssa (jr.) and Amanda Wolbaum (fr.).
Michelle Healey said she looks out for her little sister.
“I’ve showed her around the school, and I’ve been nice to her. … I haven’t made it worse,” she said with a laugh.
Caitlin Craggs, a bubbly senior co-captain with hair dyed bright red, said that unlike other sports, “swimming has low-level drama and low-level stress. I’m sure sisters help that out.”
The Lake Stevens team hopes to build on the success it had last season, when it upended rival Marysville-Pilchuck for the first time in 10 years and finished second behind Snohomish atop the Western Conference North Division standings. The Vikings have 53 swimmers out this year, up from 42 in 2003.
“We’re really excited this year because I think we have a really good shot at being number one in our district,” Craggs said. “I think we have a really strong core group of girls. I’m optimistic, and I should be – I’m team captain.”
Optimism and dedication are vital, Rachael Simmons added.
“Attitude, I think, is a lot of it, and so far our team has done really well as far as getting in the pool and working out and not complaining about it,” she said
Good team chemistry could lift the Vikings to new heights, Brittany Wolcott said.
“We’re gonna try and beat Marysville again, and our hope is to try and beat Snohomish,” she said. “It’s going to be tough, though.”
If sister power isn’t enough, Lake Stevens can always lean on its scarlet-haired captain.
“(Caitlin Craggs) definitely helps people that are having trouble,” Wolcott said. “Her bright smile is always there. (And) her bright, bright red hair, it kind of relaxes us all.”
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