Have you ever watched a fighting movie where every competitor has their own "thing"? As in, there will be the strong guy, the super fast guy, the gal with the weird weapon, and so on? Last night's swim meet between Ypsilanti Lincoln High, Adrian High, and Pinckney High was the swim meet version of that.
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It was fun to see powerful swimmers compete against each other, and fascinating to get to know how teams support their teammates from outside the pool. As one swimmer from Ypsilanti Lincoln was competing against a particularly strong swimmer from Adrian, his teammate was crouched by the edge of the pool, plunging a plastic sign in the water to tell him what lap he was on and slapping the surface of the water while shouting encouragement.
Moments like these made the swim meet incredibly entertaining. Each individual competition plays out like a sped up version of other sporting events, with players having minor victories or defeats in each lap. The ultimate victory at the end of an event is palpable, but the moment moves on quickly as swimmers clear the pool for the next event.
Swimming offers lots of opportunities for the participants to shine. In addition to the individual competitions there were team competitions that had everyone either swimming, cheering, or preparing themselves on the diving board for the next round.
In particular I found the team from Pinckney to have a lot of heart, raucously supporting each other throughout the event. Every swimmer, however, demonstrated both a strong desire to win and a clear understanding of sportsmanship.
These athletes are certainly Fan Choice Award material. A case could be made for all of them, but only one can win per category. Vote for your favorite person involved with high school athletics below.
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