MANISTEE — The Manistee boys swim team's season ended just a hair sooner than expected due to concerns pertaining to the coronavirus, which left the Chippewas unable to compete at the Division 3 state finals.
Despite not being able to participate at the championship meet, Manistee's Jose Diaz and Zack Lee were recognized as All-State athletes by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association.
The MISCA Executive Board decided to honor all swimmers who qualified for the state finals in an individual event as All-State athletes. Diaz was slated to compete in the individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle while Lee qualified in the breaststroke and the individual medley.
This year's All-State honors do not have event designations, but rather each individually qualified athlete has been recognized as All State.
While All-State recognition is a tremendous honor, Manistee swim coach Corey Van Fleet is disappointed the Chippewas could not compete at the state finals, as the team was poised to perform well.
-
Manistee's Zack Lee was named All State by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee's Zack Lee was named All State by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee's Zack Lee was named All State by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. (News Advocate file photo)
Manistee's Zack Lee was named All State by the Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association. (News Advocate file photo)
"We got within 50 miles of the state championship when they turned us around and sent us home, but we worked really hard. The boys and I are disappointed that they didn't get to swim in the state meet," he said. "They were shined up and tapered and ready to go. We would have certainly had some individual scorers, and we would have probably had at least two of the relay teams in the top 16."
Lee and Diaz worked tirelessly throughout the season, Van Fleet said — along with the rest of the Chippewas — and though Manistee didn't get the ending it had hoped for, the team had an outstanding year and some new record times will soon be on display in the Paine Aquatic Center.
"We just went to work and they worked very hard this year. Good results up and down," Van Fleet said. "In fact, I got notification from Amor Signs (Thursday) morning that all our new pool records are all made up, so they're ready to climb up on the ladder and put them on the wall. That's always a big deal."
Diaz's hard work was not limited to the pool, either, as his GPA north or 3.85 left him on the academic All-State list, as well, while the team as a whole also found success in the classroom.
"As a team, the boys had a grade point average of 3.78 this year," Van Fleet said. "I haven't seen the final list — it hasn't been published — but I know that we're in among the top couple teams. And the girls this year were 3.64."
The Chippewas' future looks bright as the bulk of the team will be back next year along with some fresh faces ready to make a splash at the varsity level.
"The only guy we lose is Jose. He was a foreign exchange student. He's back in Mexico," Van Fleet said. "... We have some outstanding young people moving up from the eighth to the ninth grade. Alec Lampen won the state championship for junior high in the backstroke event. He also qualified for two others, I think. He elected to swim the 100 (freestyle) and finished third, but if he had elected to swim the individual medley he would have been first. ... And then we had Drew Mendians, who also placed third in the state in the junior high in the breaststroke event."
Van Fleet is holding out hope that the girls and boys will be able to have complete seasons next school year, but there is still a great deal of uncertainty.
"We're excited about the opportunity to get to swim, if we do get to swim and when we get to swim. There are still lots of things we have to work out before we can resume practice," he said. "They're talking about all kinds of scenarios — talking about delaying the start of the swimming season, of course, and then shortening the season just a little bit, but holding state championships. The girls will swim first and then the boys' turn comes in the winter time, so, I've got to figure out how we're going to train them."
"chips" - Google News
May 23, 2020 at 05:00AM
https://ift.tt/2WWz5tu
2 Chips earn All-State recognition - Manistee News Advocate
"chips" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RGyUAH
https://ift.tt/3feFffJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "2 Chips earn All-State recognition - Manistee News Advocate"
Post a Comment