Men’s swim, dive team places 6th in state

Arianna Peper
News/Opinion Editor

unnamed (1) — Senior Calum Shank swims the 200 IM in the State championship finals on Friday, Nov. 10. Shank went on to break the school record for the 200 IM with a time of 1:55.85. Photo by Arianna Peper

“The team’s work ethic, determination and overall grit has really grown over the season, and I think it will continue to grow throughout the State process,” senior and team captain Calum Shank said.

On Nov. 9 and 10, the men’s swim and dive team had two of the divers, junior Jack Lewis and sophomore Joel Herrman, and several swimmers compete at State where the team placed sixth overall out of 58 teams in Class l.

About the team going to State, head coach Evyn Spencer said, “It means a lot. State is kinda the big deal for swimmers in Missouri, and I’m just so proud of them and the work the team has put into this season.”

The process allows the top 32 times per event in Missouri to swim in the State tournament. Then after the prelims on Nov. 9, swimmers were put into one of two groups: top eight and the top nine to 16.

If ranked from nine to 16 after prelims, swimmers would not have the ability to score above that ranking to top eight even if they swam faster in the finals on Nov. 10.

At State, Webster’s team broke seven different school records as well as having several swimmers rank high in finals.

Calum broke the 200 IM, 50 freestyle, and the 100 breaststroke, which he placed eigth in finals. He was also a part of the 400 freestyle relay school record at State with junior Emmett Shank, freshman Clark Montgomery and junior Alexander Magee, where the relay team placed sixth in finals.

The 200 freestyle relay record was also broken in State by Calum, Emmett, Montgomery and senior Dylan Hulsizer, where they placed third in finals with a time of 1:29.57.

Montgomery also swam and broke the school record for the 100 backstroke in which he placed ninth.

Emmett, along with the 200 and 400 freestyle relays, also broke the 500 freestyle in which he placed seventh during finals. He also swam the 200 freestyle where he placed eighth.

Emmett said, “It’s not just about me qualifying and much more about the team because a lot of the swimmers who are going to swim State this year haven’t been able to swim in the past.”

Emmett said, “This year we have a lot of new swimmers, and so for me to be seated so high in swimmers just shows the work that I and all the swimmers have put into the season.”

Other swimmers on Webster’s team who qualified for State include seniors Barrett Rohlfing, Ryan Kleitsch, juniors Gavin Closson, Casey Drillingas, Samuel Osdieck, and sophmores Ryan Demargel and James Johnson.

About State, Rohlfing, who is one of the team captains, said, “It means a whole lot; it’s what we’re working for the whole season, really. That’s what everyone’s working for, cutting off more and more time to make it to the State cut, and when you finally make it there and get to go there— that’s the big goal.”

As for the season, the team currently holds a 6-4 record which includes placing first in the Rockwood Summit Quad and the Rockwood Summit Invitational.

Following those events, the team placed first with over a fifty-point lead in the Suburban Conference meet out of eight teams, including Clayton which it previously lost to this season. Conference took place on Oct. 24-25, at Rockwood Summit High School.

Two years ago, the team won Conference; however, before that, it hadn’t won Conference in over 25 years.

Emmett said, “Conference is the biggest meet of the year, and to have all your training come down to one meet and then to succeed in that meet is just one of the best feelings you can have as an athlete.”

This season, along with the records broken in State, the team broke several others. Calum broke the 100 butterfly, Emmett broke the 200 freestyle, and the two of them were a part of the 200 medley relay record with Montgomery and Magee.

Calum said his favorite part of the season was “Winning Conference and breaking the 200 free [relay] record. I think it meant a lot to my teammates who were on the relay because they worked really hard the whole season, and it was really good for them to get that experience.”

Webster’s team currently is ranked third in Missouri in the 400 free relay with a time of 3:18.74 made during the season. It is also ranked sixth in the 200 free relay, and eighth in the 200 medley relay.

About the reason for the team’s success, Emmett said, “I’d say team morale; everyone being friends with everyone on the team really helps build a bond, and you learn to push each other in practice.”

As for how the team improved, Montgomery said, “The captains helped out, and it just started running more smoothly towards the end of the season.”

Spencer said, “The team leadership from Calum, Barrett and Ryan has definitely been one part of our success this year. We have such diverse talent in our team and the swimmers motivating each other really helps.”