TWO UNI STUDENTS will be spending next week in Florida, but they're not on an extended spring break — though they do hope to have some fun in the sun eventually.

Senior Michelle Mehnert and sophomore Lisa Boyce will compete in the YMCA National Short Course Swimming and Diving Championships in Ft. Lauderdale from Tuesday through Friday. They are members of the 11-person Champaign County YMCA Heat national team.

Mehnert, who is known throughout Uni High as an accomplished runner, is also a top swimmer.

This year, she qualified individually for nationals in the 400-yard individual medley, and she will also be a key member on five different relays: the 200 and 400 medleys, and the 200, 400, and 800 freestyle relays.

Mehnert, who has competed at the YMCA national swim meet for the past four years, has high hopes to finish her senior year with a strong enough swim in the morning to qualify for consulate finals or finals in the evening.

The YMCA national meet is structured so that preliminary-finals, which include everyone who has made a national cut in a particular event, are held in the morning. Swimmers who place from 16th to ninth place qualify for consulate finals, and swimmers who place from eighth to first place qualify for finals. Both the consulate final and final heats are held in the evening.

“Ft. Lauderdale has always been the goal, ever since I was little and watching the older swimmers take a week of school to go to this huge meet,” said Mehnert. “It’s been a goal of mine to make it there myself. I am really looking forward to making [consulate finals] this year, especially after placing second to last my first year at Y-Nats.”

Meanwhile, Boyce qualified for a whopping total of eight individual events. However, due to the fact that a swimmer can only swim four individual events and five relays total, Boyce will compete as an individual in her strongest events: the 100 backstroke and the 50, 100, and 200 freestyle.

Additionally, Boyce will compete as a member of four relays: the 200, 400, and 800 medleys, and the 400 freestyle.

This will be Boyce’s second year competing at this prestigious meet. She has already proven herself as one of the best swimmers in the state, racking up two first-place medals in the 100 and 200 freestyle at the YMCA Illinois-Missouri Area State Championship in DeKalb on March 15-16.

Now, this newly turned 14-year-old hopes to make a splash on the national level.

“I’m hoping to make it to finals [place in the top 8] in the 50 and 100 free,” said Boyce. “I want to get best times in everything else. The highest I’m seeded is 50th, in the 100 free, and I hope I can, I think I can, do it!”

With countless hours of hard work, grueling workouts, and a near seven-month season behind them, both swimmers are fired up to perform their best at nationals.

But equally as important as performing well is having fun. Mehnert and Boyce are extremely excited to enjoy the Ft. Lauderdale sun with their best friends and teammates.

“In spite of the fact that this is a really important meet, and you have to be careful about the sun and not going to the beach until the meet’s over, you're in Florida!” said Mehnert. “The tropical climate makes everyone more upbeat and happy, and it psyches you up to do well.”