If Herricks girls swimming coach Danielle Sullivan was to be taken literally, there might be need for investigation by New York State swimming authorities.

In describing her outstanding senior Katie Yee, Sullivan raved about her work ethic, how Yee is putting her heart and soul into the sport and even more effort this, her final season.

“I think she might have fins, she practices so hard,” Sullivan said with a laugh.

Sullivan was of course kidding; Yee is all human. But the times she and fellow senior Kailey Simons have been putting up this season certainly have been eye-popping.

The duo each won two events at the Nassau County championships on Nov. 5 at the Nassau County Aquatic Center at Eisenhower Park in East Meadow. Yee won the 200 intermediate medley in 2:05.11, and the 100 butterfly in :55.19, while Simons snagged a couple of top spots in the 50 freestyle (:24.07) and the 100 backstroke (55.92).

On the strength of those two wins and their earlier qualifying times, both Yee and Simons, along with four teammates, will be competing in the state championships on Nov. 18-19 in Webster, N.Y.

“So excited to be back and have a chance to do well at states, and winning counties was a big goal I had all year,” Simons said. “To do this and win counties for the first time since I was a freshman, it so special.”

For Simons, whose specialty is the backstroke, reaching states this year is sweeter because of what she endured in 2021.

Competing through discomfort in both shoulders last fall, she finally came to the point where “I couldn’t do anything without a lot of pain” she said, and had to shut her season down. She had a partial tear in her labrum and supraspinatus tears in both rotator cuffs and missed the county and state meets.

This year, the Herricks violinist and swimming standout is much healthier and has excelled. She’s seeded fourth in the state meet in the 100 back and sixth in the 50 free.

“Kailey is very analytical, and she knows what her strengths are but whatever I put her in she’ll do well,” Sullivan said. “She’s an absolute pleasure to coach, so supportive of everyone and so coachable.”

For Yee, who’ll be swimming for Cornell University next year (Simons is undecided on college), winning counties again and qualifying for states was the capstone on her career, and she’d like to improve on her two medal finishes from last year’s state championships. In 2021 Yee was fifth in the 200 IM and sixth in the 100IM butterfly at the state meet.

“I definitely want to get into the Top 3 in the 200 IM,” she said. “I know some of my competitors and am excited to race them.

Yee laughed when she heard her coach’s description of her, and agreed.

“I probably spend half my time at school and home and the other half in the water,” Yee said. “I like to help other people, my teammates and other teams too. Even though it’s an individual sport, there’s a big team aspect of it.”

Both Yee and Simons spoke effusively of each other, realizing their last days as teammates are here.

“We push each other so much and since our best strokes are opposite each other, it’s fun to race each other,” Simons said. “She’s so supportive and I’m so excited we get to go to states.”

“She’s amazing, how she keeps pushing and working hard through her injuries,” Yee said. “If us and the relay teams can all get Top 10s, that would be amazing.”