Palisades swimmers cheered on by adopted Quakertown team

Toby Olmstead, Skylar Donaldson and Natalie Owens are old hands at it now.
The trio are swimmers from Palisades but since their school doesn’t have a team, they swim as independents.
Not to worry, though. They have been taken in by the Quakertown swim team, and although they are not actual team members, they feel as though they belong.
“We’ve been swimming with them for a while and they really are very supportive,” said Donaldson, a senior.
In order to compete at the District 11 meet, all three need to post qualifying times. They do this by swimming exhibition at Quakertown’s double dual meets. The girls typically swim in a second heat by themselves or with each other, while Olmstead often swims in an open lane in the double dual with the swimmers from Quakertown and the opponent.
On Tuesday, they traveled to Hatboro-Horsham with the Panthers. Donaldson and Owens both swam the 50- and 100-yard freestyles, while Olmstead opted for the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
“This is my last year swimming so I want to enjoy it,” said Donaldson, who is looking to major in mechanical engineering at either Drexel or Virginia Tech. “This year is all about having fun for me, and so far, it really has been. My goal is to just swim as well as I can and have as much fun as I can.
“It’s been great to swim with Quakertown. They cheer for us and really makes us feel welcome and part of their team.”
Aside from swimming, Donaldson is a thrower on the track team, primarily javelin and shot put.
Owens is a junior. It was atypical for her to swim the freestyle events.
“Toby and Skylar are freestylers but I swim the other strokes,” she said. “I did the freestyles in this meet because it’s good to take a break and do something different, but I’m definitely focusing on the butterfly and backstroke.

“I’m really just hoping to swim my best times this year. I didn’t have that great a season last year so my goal is to do better this time.”
She is a member of the Spanish Club and the National Honor Society at Palisades.
All three swam last season.
“We’re used to it,” said Olmstead, a sophomore. “We all car pool in Skylar’s car, which is nice.”
Olmstead had an appendectomy right before the start of the season.
“Fortunately, I wasn’t even in the pool yet, so it could have been worse,” he said.
He swims a variety of events.
“You can only swim two events so I have to decide what I’m going to do at districts,” he said. “I think the 50 free but I have to swim better than I did here. Last year I swam the 100 free but I’d like to try new things so I’m thinking about the butterfly. That’s definitely one I really enjoy and I’m starting to be able to swim in good shape.
“I swam in full heats and that’s nice to have someone beside me to keep me in the race but at the same time it can be distracting, especially for longer races.
“This is a good building year for me, and I have that experience from last year. It’s been fun so far, and I really like swimming with Quakertown. They’re such nice people. It feels like my team. I don’t feel excluded.”

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