Finally! The finals.
In a way it's been two years in the making for the Manistee boys swim team, who at long last will compete in the Division 3 state finals on Saturday at the Holland Aquatic Center.
The journey here has been anything but typical and even dates back to last season, when the Chippewas were literally on the road to the 2020 event when they received word that athletics state- and nationwide were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The finals were ultimately canceled all together, leaving Manistee swimming as one of the few local program's to have last year's winter season cut short of a conclusion.
Fast forward to this season, and the challenges kept coming for the Chippewas.
The team, which only had one senior a season ago, was hungry to get back in the pool this season, but sports were again suspended in mid-November. Boys swimming/diving was finally given the green light to commence in full on Jan. 16, but then the Chippewas ran into another unforeseen hurdle.
Due to a COVID-19-related quarantine of its swimmers, Manistee had to postpone its first three meets of the season before finally getting underway on Feb. 11.
Since then, however, it's been nothing short of success for the Chippewas as they punched ticket after ticket to the finals with state qualifying times, setting new school records and capturing their second straight Coastal Swim Conference championship in the process.
Manistee is sending its largest contingent of qualifiers in program history to the finals, and coach Corey Van Fleet couldn't be more pleased.
"We've got high hopes," he said. "They're feeling good and they look great.
"They're going to swim fast and score some points," Van Fleet added. "If all goes well, we could score enough to finish in the top 10 teams, which would be fantastic."
The Chippewas have qualifiers in every event but the 50-yard freestyle and 1-meter diving.
Manistee is seeded in scoring position for all three relays: 10th in the 400-yard freestyle, 11th in the 200-yard freestyle and 12th in the 200-yard medley.
Individually, the Chippewas will be represented by Zach Lee in the 100-yard breaststroke (seeded ninth) and 200-yard individual medley (14th); Ben Sullivan in the 500-yard freestyle (11th) and 200-yard freestyle (13th); Alec Lampen in the 100-yard backstroke (11th) and 200-yard individual medley (13th); Trevor Adamczak in the 100-yard backstroke (16th) and 100-yard butterfly (18th); Seth Thompson in the 100-yard freestyle (23rd) and 200-yard freestyle (28th); Griffen Antal in the 500-yard freestyle (18th); and Drew Mendians in the 100-yard breaststroke (20th).
"We're in business," said Van Fleet, "and we're tickled with what we're seeing. At this point, 90 percent is from the ears up: You've got to think you can do it before you can do it.
"They've practiced 24 months now to swim this Saturday," he added, "so, they're focused."
March 26, 2021 at 11:12PM
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Chips to compete in long-awaited finals - Manistee News Advocate
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