Cape senior wraps up impactful swim career and is ready for the next (big) chapter

The Cape Central High School girl’s swimming and diving team recently won the MSHSAA Class 1 State Championship on the backs of having the Swimmer of the Year, as well as the Diver of the Year, neither of which were Tiger senior Emilie Dickson. However, any lack of individual plaque hardly would diminish the impact that Dickson had on the Cape Central program over the past four seasons.

“Emilie is kind,” veteran Tiger swim coach Dayna Powell said. “She is smart. She includes everybody and is just an amazing person.”

That is a solid start to describing what a quality individual Dickson has grown into despite her youth, and by the way, she’s a phenomenal swimmer, and we’ll get to that in a moment.

Dickson recently concluded her competitive swimming career with four All-State swims in the State Finals, including the last of her three career state championships. She accomplished this having had a season in which she purposely chose NOT to focus as much as possible on her sport because she has so many varied interests.

“I did take a little bit of time to focus on other talents,” Dickson said.

Dickson is an All-State member in Choir, and having to perform and compete in that activity caused her to miss a “couple of our big meets,” according to Powell.

In addition, Dickson has her eyes focused on something far greater than touching the wall first at the end of a race.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dickson has plans to serve on a missionary trip – somewhere – before attending college.

“The reason that I am not totally focused on swimming right now,” Dickson explained, “is because, after my first semester of college, I want to leave on a mission.”

Dickson is the fifth member of her family (including a cousin), who has swum for Cape Central, and her older brother, Hyrum Dickson, is currently serving on a mission in Taiwan.

“The Church will send me where they feel that the Lord wants me to go,” Dickson said. “I think that is awesome because wherever I go, it’s where I am needed.

“I think that is so cool and I am so excited.”

Powell is “excited” when she reflects on Dickson’s career, which is mind-numbing in its achievements.

Dickson advanced to the State Finals 16 times (the maximum allowed) over four years and won three state titles (200 free relay as a junior and senior; and 400 free relay as a junior).

She finished as a state runner-up twice (200 medley relay as a sophomore; and 100 fly as a sophomore), as well as having 14 top-seven finishes.

As a team, the Tigers have finished first (this year), second (2022), third (2023), and fourth (2021) with Dickson contributing to each.

“She has been one of our core swimmers,” Powell said.

At this year’s State Finals, Dickson helped Cape Central to a fourth-place finish (200 medley relay), the aforementioned state title in the 200 free relay, as well as a third-place finish in the 100 fly in a time of 57.74, which was the fastest time she had ever swum in the event at the State Finals (regardless of her limited training this winter). However, her final act as a Tiger was perhaps her most unselfish and most impactful.

After not swimming the 100 breast at the State Finals since her freshman season, Cape had a hole in the event this season.

“It’s so important to have a swimmer in every event,” Powell explained.

Dickson swam a very nice 100 breast race at the recent SEMO Conference Meet and asked Powell about swimming the event at State.

After waffling on it, Powell eventually agreed and entered Dickson in the breaststroke race and she took fifth place in a time four seconds faster than she swam as a freshman.

“It’s always nice to have that breaststroker at the end of the day,” Powell said of the final individual event in a meet. “That made a difference.”

It absolutely did, as the Tigers won the team title by 1 ½ points over Clayton.

“It was kind of a secret weapon having Emilie in the breast,” Powell said. “I don’t think people expected that.”