Fenton boys swim and dive are tenth consecutive metro league champs
PHOTO Jacob Shanahan
March 21, 2022
The Fenton swim and dive team competed in the Flint Metro League swim meet on Feb. 25 where they placed first for the tenth year in a row. The team was accompanied by six other teams at Brandon High in Ortonville, Mich.
“Being able to hold our winning streak of ten years is an extreme accomplishment,” senior Jacob Shanahan said. “After all of our hard work and the work of our past teammates it was a bittersweet moment to continue on the legacy of Fenton swim and dive.”
The boys are coached by Brad Jones, who also coaches the girl’s swim and dive team. The boy’s team is made up of six seniors who have all been a part of the team since their freshman years. During the season these swimmers go through a week of major swim training, where they prepare for the season ahead of them.
“Something I will miss from swimming is the ‘hell week’ practices,” senior Evan Koch said. “We train the hardest in the league every week— with a cumulative average of 20 hours in the pool every week. During those ‘hell week’ practices, we work harder than we do at any other practice and it really brings us together as a team. We all struggle together and all have great memories from the practice week.”
The swim team is made up of all the swimmers and one diver, freshman Owen Cox. Cox helped the swim team achieve this Metro League title by earning points, in addition to what they could obtain in the pool. As a diver, Cox helped his team by attaching more points to their score, depending on how advanced his dive was.
“It puts a lot of pressure on me,” Cox said. “I have to score the team extra points from diving, but it’s also so much fun. I really enjoy meeting other divers from different schools and talking to them about their diving experiences.”
On Saturday, March 12, and Sunday, March 13, the team attended the Michigan High School Athletic Associations’ Regional State Finals.
“After winning the metro meet we practiced for the state meet, ” Shanahan said. “At the state meet, we took ninth in the state which as a team we are very proud of. As it was my last season, I had a great time and will miss the sport very much.”
The state finals took place at Oakland University where the swim boys competed in their last meet. For the multiple seniors, this state meet was their last lap of high school swim. To see the team’s statistics and schedule, visit https://fentontigers.org/main/teamschedule/id/3777550/seasonid/4661351
