The pair started out swimming for the Wayland Junior Warriors and then moved on to swim for the Mighty Ducks. Now, during the winter, Molly and Megan Pierce manage swimming for two different teams, the Wayland High school swim team and the Shawmut Aquatic Club.

“It’s been a long journey, but it has been good in the sense of having someone along with you the whole time,” Molly said.

The sisters currently swim six to eight times in a normal week. They have two and a half-hour practices twice a week before school, on school nights and on Saturdays.

“It’s a lot, but it’s all definitely worth it in the end from what you can take out of it,” Molly said.

Molly’s favorite swimming memory was when WHS won first place at states.

“It was such an awesome feeling to be competing for my team, not just for myself,” Molly said. “And even if my individual performances weren’t my best, when the team won that state title, I felt like I had accomplished something greater than myself, and that is the best feeling in the world.”

Being able to swim together turned the sport into a family passion in the Pierce household. Molly and Megan are usually at every swimming event, practice or competition together, making it easy for the whole family to be a part of the activities.

Striving to achieve their goals, the sisters are working hard to qualify for Junior Nationals this summer.

“We are very competitive with each other, but I think it brings out the best in us,” Molly said.

The girls’ next biggest upcoming meets, championships and sectionals, will lead up to nationals.

Despite all of the pain, hard work and time commitments swimming can require, the Pierce sisters love to swim and hope to continue swimming after high school.

“I think being a student athlete is very rewarding, and it prepares you a lot for stuff ahead,” Megan said. “You learn how to budget your time.”

Megan will be a freshman at Williams College this fall and was recruited to swim for them. She hopes to join a team called Masters after that. Molly has plans to swim for the rest of her life, continuing on at a competitive level at least through college.

“I love to swim because I love to race, and I live for competition. Sure there are bad days when I don’t feel good in the water, but when race day comes, it is always so exhilarating to dive into the pool and race your heart out,” Molly said.