MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s been an exhilarating high school career for Morgantown High swimmer McKenna Moore. A state champion as a freshman, a runner-up as a junior and now a senior year on the horizon with plenty of chances to meet her goals.
“In my freshman year at states, when my 400 freestyle relay team broke the school record and won, everyone started crying, laughing and jumping up and down together,” Moore said. “Really, being there in the moment with them I thought ‘Wow, this sport is so amazing that is brought me these people that we were able to accomplish that.’”
The tears of joy didn’t stop there.
It says something about the sport of swimming — sports in general, really — that a win can bring a regular-season rival to the deck after a state runner-up placement to congratulate you.
“Last year, when I was able to get 2nd in the 500 free at states, one of my friends from the UHS swim team, Jaqueline McCutchan, came over and started crying with me while I was still in the water. It was such a great moment. Those are two of my favorite accomplishments over the last four years,” Moore said.
Moore will be specializing in the 100 butterfly this season, one of her best talents as she nearly broke the Morgantown school record last year — registering just 0.3 seconds behind it. That’s a record she’s still chasing, but she has two more big things on her mind: Winning a state title in the the 200 free with her relay team and build the Mohigans’ swim team into a family.
The latter was seemingly the most important.
“I’m hoping to [build a familial bond with the team],” Moore said. “We had a lot of new people come in this year, so I want them to become a family like we have been in the past. I want to see how that plays out and be there for them to help them through their season.”
As for the 200 freestyle, she’s pretty convinced the relay team can pull it off. But before they can do that, she has OVACs and regionals to overcome. Luckily, the two are her favorite meets and she has a good outlook on how she’ll do. However, Moore was quick to note that, realistically, it’s too early to know what the season will hold.
“It’s still early in the season to predict how it will come out, but I’m getting close to my goal times. As I progress I want to shave down those seconds and get closer to those personal bests,” she said.
Moore and Morgantown close out the 2019 portion of their schedule with a home quad against University, Robert C. Byrd and Parkersburg. The Mohigans then return to action on Jan. 4, 2020 at the Parkersburg South invitational at the Parkersburg Boys and Girls Club.
