March 15, 2019 at 3:51 p.m.
RSC sends 11 swimmers to state meet
RSC sends 11 swimmers to state meet
RSC sent eight swimmers to the 12 and under state meet held at the Walter Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deere, Feb. 22-24 and three swimmers to the 13 and over meet in Pleasant Prairie held Feb. 28 to March 3. These swimmers had to achieve a qualifying time during the club season to participate and to be able to compete against the top athletes in Wisconsin.
The 12 and under qualifiers include: Ella Heck, Emma Houg, Vivian Lamers, Zacha King, Mathias Fugle, Samson Shinners, Sophie Miljevich and Abi Winnicki. Here the top eight finishers in all individual events make the podium where they receive a medal.
At the 13 and over state meet everyone competed in prelims, held in the morning. If a swimmer placed in the top 20 for 13-14 year old swimmers, or top 30 of the age 15 and older group, they return to the pool that evening to swim finals in that individual event to determine their place. The top 10 swimmers in each event make the podium where they receive their medal. RSC's qualifiers for this meet were Jack Antonuk, Daniel Gillingham and Makenna Winnicki.
Coach Megan Cihla was on deck for both meets and said, "I couldn't be more proud of these 11 athletes. These kids worked extremely hard this season to get to this spot and it paid off. It was fun to see the awe and excitement in Emma, Vivian, and Ella's eyes as they saw the intensity of the atmosphere for the very first time! Mathias and Zacha swam every race like it was their last one, leaving everything in the water. Samson pushed through his long lineup and never once gave up. Sophie was extremely determined and focused for every race. Abi had a phenomenal meet, making the podium in 4 of her individual events. That is something that hasn't happened for an RSC swimmer in a long time!
"At the 13 and over meet, It was great seeing Daniel step out of his comfort zone and compete at this level of competition. It really opened his eyes to what's out there compared to our normal swim meets. It was great to see Makenna have fun with her events. She was relaxed and had personal bests in all of her events. Jack had an incredible meet. He swam 2,800 yards between prelims and making it to finals in all of his events. Rather than get tired as the meet progressed, he got stronger and stronger. He ended up making the podium in 4 of his events. That hasn't happened in RSC for over 30 years at his age group! I hope we can continue with this momentum and I can't wait to see what the team can do next year."
The RSC season is wrapping up as the club has 10 swimmers who will be competing at the Midwest Regional Meet at the University of Minnesota March 23 and 24.
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