Boys swim and dive places 14th at state
In its third year, the boys swim team competes in three individual events, two relays and the dive competition
February 23, 2015
The boys swim and dive team placed 14th in the 5A state competition at the Topeka Hummer Sports Complex on Saturday, Feb. 21.
In individual events, senior Callahan Eckardt placed sixth in the 200-yard freestyle event and ninth in the 100-yard freestyle event, and sophomore Garrison Fangman placed 11th in the 100-yard butterfly event. In relays, the 200-yard freestyle relay of Eckardt, Fangman, senior Nick Stack and junior Adam Grey placed tenth and the 400-yard freestyle relay of Eckardt, Grey, Fangman and junior Chase Midyett placed 14th. One diver competed, sophomore Mitch Willoughby, who placed third.
Despite the stressful nature of the dive competition, Willoughby enjoyed competing.
“It’s very nerve wracking, but it was exciting because you know you made it that far, all the way to state, and that felt good,” Willoughby.
Willoughby practices for dive twice a week in school practice and twice a week in club practice. For him, the third place medal makes the time commitment worth it.
“It made me feel really good, like I accomplished a lot and I worked very hard,” Willoughby said. “I felt good because it was my first time at state, and I’m a sophomore, and I got a medal.”
Midyett said 14th place is a great result considering the small number of team members who were able to compete.
“Overall, since we got 14th, I think we did pretty well,” Midyett said. “We only had two relays make [semi-finals] and only three individual events qualified to go, so 14th is pretty good.”
This season turned out better than expected according to Midyett.
“[For our] third season, I thought it went really well,” Midyett said. “Last year, with some seniors leaving, I thought [this year] we wouldn’t do as well, but a lot of juniors and a lot of underclassmen stepped up.”
Willoughby looks forward to next season as a chance for further improvement.
“I want to learn some harder dives and hopefully do better next year,” Willoughby.
Only two seniors competed at state, but Midyett said they helped lead the team throughout the season.
“[The seniors’] contributions to the team really pushed us through the year,” Midyett said. “We’re really going to miss them next year.”
