Jefferson and Prairie are rivals in numerous varsity sports, but there's a new spirit of friendship in girls swimming this season.

The girls from Jefferson and Prairie are swimming on the same team under the Jefferson banner, and from all accounts it's going well.

"I think it was a really good decision to combine and see how it would work out," said Hailey Sullivan, one of 14 Prairie students on the combined team. "So far it's been going really great."

The Jefferson and Prairie girls swam together against Kennedy Tuesday night at the Jefferson pool, but the visiting Cougars were too strong and posted a 122-64 victory.

Prairie swam with Williamsburg High School last year, but it required a 45-minute drive and took a lot of time. Now the Prairie girls have a much shorter drive and have made a bunch of new friends.

"At first I thought it was going to be hard, because we're rivals," Prairie junior Gabrille Armstrong said. "But the girls are really nice and it's working out really well."

Jefferson Coach Ryan York welcomed the 14 new members to his team, giving the J-Hawks additional depth.

"We've really had a great time working with each one of them," York said. "We've learned a lot about them, and they've learned a lot about us."

Prairie does not have its own pool and has to share with other schools. The Williamsburg coach retired after last season, and York said it seemed like a good time for Prairie to make the switch and join Jefferson.

"I said we're all for it," York remarked. "It's totally one team. They don't see a separation between Jefferson and Prairie. They're all one Jefferson team.

"So it's been a fun time, getting them to know our team and getting to know them. We wait for them to show up for practice and we do everything together."

The Jefferson and Prairie swimmers wore the same uniforms Tuesday night, but Kennedy beat them to the finish line. The Cougars won 10 of 12 events in the lopsided victory.

Lexi Scharmer participated in four victories for the Cougars in the 200 medley relay, 200 IM, 100 fly and 400 freestyle relay. Sam Jacobsen, Amanda Jacobsen and Jessica Schmeiser were triple winners for Kennedy. Larkin Aldrich and Hannah Botkin picked up two wins apiece, while Megan Berst and Myah McCoy won events.

Kailey Drake and Mo Groe collected victories for Jefferson.

KENNEDY 122, JEFFERSON 64

200 medley relay - 1. Kennedy (Sam Jacobsen, Amanda Jacobsen, Lexi Scharmer, Jessica Schmeiser) 1:56.62; 2. Jefferson (Erin Kibby, Leah Groe, Kylie Steimer, Kailey Drake) 2:02.19; 3. Kennedy (Raechal Brown, Sydney Hofferber, Myah McCoy, Megan Berst) 2:07.27.

200 free - 1. Larkin Aldrich (K) 2:10.99; 2. Hannah Botkin (K) 2:11.76; 3. Carly Kenney (K) 2:16.42.

200 IM - 1. Lexi Scharmer (K) 2:25.40; 2. Amanda Jacobsen (K) 2:28.49; 3. Hailey Sullivan (J) 2:45.51.

Diving - 1. Mo Groe (J) 162.55; 2. Justine Wiesner (J) 156.15; 3. Lucy Schneekloth (J) 144.20.

100 fly - 1. Lexi Scharmer (K) 1:03.88; 2. Kylie Steimer (J) 1:08.42; 3. Myah McCoy (K) 1:17.74.

100 free - 1. Jessica Schmeiser (K) 57.88; 2. Kailey Drake (J) 58.15; 3. Hannah Botkin (K) 59.74.

500 free - 1. Larkin Aldrich (K) 5:53.79; 2. Katie Ferguson (K) 5:59.12; 3. Carly Kenney (K) 6:03.84.

200 free relay - 1. Kennedy (Hannah Botkin, Megan Berst, Myah McCoy, Amanda Jacobsen) 1:46.62; 2. Jefferson (Emily Ritchie, Erin Kibby, Kylie Steimer, Kailey Drake) 1:48.10; 3. Jefferson (Hailey Sullivan, Michelle Wharton, Megan Kibby, Jourdan McChesney) 1:58.68.

100 back - 1. Sam Jacobsen (K) 1:05.91; 2. Erin Kibby (J) 1:10.70; 3. Henna McCoy (K) 1:11.84.

100 breast - 1. Amanda Jacobsen (K) 1:16.79; 2. Sydney Hofferber (K) 1:17.53; 3. Leah Beman (K) 1:22.39.

400 free relay - 1. Kennedy (Jessica Schmeiser, Sam Jacobsen, Hannah Botkin, Lexi Scharmer) 3:55.83; 2. Kennedy (Henna McCoy, Carly Kenney, Larkin Aldrich, Katie
Ferguson) 4:09.01; 3. Jefferson (Megan Kibby, Gabrille Armstrong, Brittany Rains, Jourdan McChesney) 4:23.76.