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HIGHLAND — Two sisters who attend Lone Peak High School were recently named All-Americans for their performance in the 200-meter freestyle relay at the state swim meet in February.
The news came in July, after months of waiting to see if they got selected for the prestigious award. When the news finally came, sisters Kennedy and Taylor Bennett described the experience as one that only happens once in a lifetime.
"Getting All-American is something that I don't think either of us thought we would ever get, and just knowing that we did it together is pretty cool," Kennedy said.
The sisters have been swimming on the same relay team since they were kids, and both said the award is a highlight of their swimming careers.
"We've always been on a relay together, and that's always been really cool," Kennedy, who is 18, said. "We are only a year apart and we get asked all the time if we're twins. We're just really close and sharing that experience of pushing each other to those time standards was really cool."
Kennedy, a senior, swam the third leg of the relay, and Taylor, a junior, swam anchor, which meant that their names were announced together. This was something that the whole Bennett family looked forward to hearing at each meet.
"One of our most favorite things is when they announce the names of who's in the relay." Taylor said. "And since we're the third and fourth legs of the relay, we're the very last names that are mentioned before they start the race as we're the two people that finished the race as well. It was something our whole family got a kick out of."
Hearing their names at meets was one thing, but being able to have their names immortalized together as All-American was something they have wanted and been waiting for.
"We tried to go for the All-American standard last year, but it was more of an idea," Taylor, 17, said. "At the end of that season, we were so close that at the start of this last season, we made a unanimous decision that we were going to go for it — especially since three of our teammates were seniors."
The other members on the relay were seniors Haylee Tiffany and Emme Brewer and, along with the Bennett sisters, they took full advantage of the 6A State Championship meet at BYU to reach that goal.
"It was our last chance and the only time that we would be able to perform at that high level, so we figured that state would be the place to go for it," Taylor said.
The girls ended up getting a time of 1:36.45, which was good enough to take state by nearly seven seconds, set a new state record and put them in the running for the All-American title. Kennedy said they were confident they would earn the title, it would come down to the (swimming) powers that be. When they finally did get the word, she said it was as exciting as they had hoped it would be.
"It took a while because even though we got the qualifying time, the officials looked at the top 100 times in the country to decide who made it into the All-American rank," Kennedy explained. "When we learned we did it, it was a really neat experience to share with each other and our other teammates."
Taylor agreed, adding that she will miss her teammates this coming season.
"It's just been a really cool experience," Taylor said. "You feel a lot of emotions because even though you reached your goal, it's sad knowing that it's the last time you'll compete together. It was one of our best performance years and so it was really cool to finish out strong."
While competing together on a swim team may be a thing of the past for the Bennett sisters, their involvement in the swim world remains. The two are lifeguards at their local pool, overseeing the next generation of swimmers.
