Swimming to state
Boys swim took several awards while at the Ozark Invitational.
Colin Williams qualified with a time of 56.99 in the 100 meter backstroke. The Ozark Invitational (September 8th) was successful for Colin and the rest of his team as well.
September 24, 2018
Francis Howell Central boys swim and dive team traveled to Nixa for the Ozark Invitational on September 7th to compete on September 8th. Going against schools all around the state, Ozark is one of the largest meets the swim team competes at. Traveling Friday night to compete on Saturday not only shows the dedication each team member has for the sport, but also the hard work put in at practices to place in their events. While competing at Ozark, swim members from all schools bonded over one shared trait; their love for the sport.
Colin Williams, competitor in the 100 meter backstroke, had high hopes met during the weekend. Qualifying for state with time of 56.99 seconds in his event, Colin is feeling on top of the world. He also placed 1st in the 200 meter IM.
“When practicing to improve, I go through certain moves and if one of them seems difficult to me, I focus on that,” Williams said.
Along with Colin’s state qualifying time, Alex Anderson placed 3rd in the 100 meter freestyle while battling not only his competitors, but also his sickness.
“The entire weekend, I was pretty sick, but I pushed through and did the best I could,” Anderson said.
We saw team efforts this weekend through the 400 meter freestyle relay placing 3rd, and the 200 meter freestyle relay placing 6th. Both relays were done by four outstanding individuals; Colin Williams, Michael Yu, Jackson Michals, and Alex Anderson.
“Even in the 400 free relay, we got within a second of our state time, so that really made me motivated; thinking we could definitely get [to state] sometime soon,” Alex said.
More success was seen through diver Faustino Javier as well. Javier placed third at the meet this weekend. Practicing specific dives at practice helps him to polish them so he is prepared for competition.
“When working on my diving, I have specific ones to do for each meet, so I repeatedly work on them over and over,” Javier said.
Like all the boys on the team, Javier repeatedly practices one skill until it is perfected, guaranteeing that it will be ready for the meet.
The FHC swim team already has one state qualifier, and hopes for several more. With quick improvements and hard work, the team is bound to succeed in more ways than imaginable.
Their next meet is September 17 against Timberland, and the Spartan nation wishes them the best of luck (although they won’t need it).
For updates on the swim team’s accomplishments, follow their captain’s twitter account.
