The boys varsity swim season is drawing near as the boys prepare for the County’s meet. This is a competition against the Genesee county schools to see who qualifies for States and Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coach Association (MISCA). States is a meet that swimmers have to achieve a certain score or time to qualify for and compete to see who are the best in the state. However, MISCA is when Division one, Division two and Division three schools come together and compete at Eastern Michigan University. The boys have 2-0 in the metro league and 3-1 overall, coach Brad Jones hopes to get as many boys to states as possible.

“To prepare for this weekend I’m eating right, mentally preparing myself and just getting ready for the meet in general,” junior Jake Iddings said. “I’m doing pretty well in the season so far. I’ve gotten a couple PR’s and I’m hoping to go to MISCA’s and States by the end of this week. A team goal that I have is to have at least four or five guys go to MISCA’s and about two or three go to states this year. I am not a team captain but I still want what’s best for my team. This meet is important because it shows that we are the best and we have what it takes to go to states.”

The team will compete at the Division two level. The qualifications for MISCA’s diving requires a score of 225 in at least two meets. Qualifications for States for swimming are determined by the times you achieve throughout the season, for dive you have to be in the top 12 for regionals. Regionals divers have to win six meets throughout the season.

Gallery • 3 Photos

PHOTO Missy Tousley

In between sets, junior Jake Iddings and freshman Alec Maddock take a break and chat with teammates. Varsity swim compete next on Feb. 22 and 23 at home.

“This meet is important because it shows us our competition for states,” senior Ethan Krantz said. “It sets the stage for how good we are and gives us a chance to prove ourselves. Some personal goals I have are to win the county meet this weekend, win the metros and be top 20 in the state. Our team goal is to win the metro and get as many kids to states as possible.”

To get top 20 in the state as a diver Krantz would need a score of 150 in the first round, he was 30 points short from making it to the top 20. Currently Krantz is 35 in the state.

“The Genesee county meet is our halfway point for the season,” Jones said. “We’ve been working hard for the last four weeks and we’ll probably taper down (rest up) these next few days. County’s are important for us because it gives us an opportunity to swim against Grand Blanc and Powers, who are two of the top programs in our area and give us a bit of a challenge.”

Diving will take place on Friday Jan.19 at 5 pm and swimming will be on Saturday Jan. 20 at 6 pm. Finals for both are on Sunday Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. at Fenton High School.