Boys’ Swim Team Goes to States

On March 12th, the Boys’ Varsity Swim and Dive team went to Oakland University where the 2023 MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association) Division Three State Championships were held. There were eight swimmers who attended: Kyle Eacker, Johnny Wachter, Ryan Fisher, Alex Strauss, Matt Daudelin, Noah Fletcher, Tomas Ruiz, and Nathan Navarre. The team’s one and only diver, Jonah VanDreumel, also attended.

There was some illness going around at the time of the State meet, but the boys still managed to make some impressive achievements. in the 200 Freestyle Relay and 13th in the 400 Freestyle Relay. These boys also were awarded 1st Team All-State. Jonah VanDreumel placed 30th for the 11 dives he did at the competition.. The 200 Medley Relay was made up of swimmers Ryan Fisher, Nathan Naverre, Matthew Daudelin, and Tomas Ruiz. Together, they came in 21st. Noah Fletcher came in 30th in the 200 Freestyle and 19th in the 100 Freestyle. Ryan Fisher came in 30th for the 100 Backstroke. Johnny Wachter placed 4th in the 50 Freestyle and 5th in the 100 Fly. Johnny was also awarded 1st Team All-State. Johnny Wachter, Kyle Eaker, Alex Strauss, Ryan Fisher, and Noah Fletcher were 8th

Overall, the Laker swimmers placed 17th out of 46 teams. Nick Zacek, the boys’ swim head coach, stated, “This state championship presented our team with a handful of challenges that I believe we handled the best we could. There were some tough decisions we had to make, but these calculated decisions all produced the best times possible. One of our top freestylers was sent home on Saturday’s finals due to illness. That being said, this opened up opportunities for a couple of other swimmers to take their place and race on the big stage for the first time. It was a great learning experience for these boys, and the ones returning for next season have already determined goals for the 2023-2024 season. Tomas Ruiz, a senior, said that “even though we had a rough start and end, I thoroughly enjoyed the season and having the opportunity to swim at states.”