Leigh Ivey, Charger Staff
The Cookeville High swim team is back and ready as ever. Thanks to early morning practices, small group practices, and a tough coach, the team is excited and prepared for the upcoming season.
The team had relay meets and intersquad competitons early in November to prepare for the upcoming season. Thanks to these efforts, CHS is ranked second in pre-season meets.
This year the team will be competing in Division 3, the second most-difficult level for swimmers. Coach D.D. Tennant says, “We moved up a division in ‘98, which means we’re having to work harder to win.” The team, however, likes the tough competition. Senior Bailey Garrett says, “The best part of swim team is the rush that you get in competition.”
Many swimmers have stepped up and are working hard for victory. Trevor Mickey, Sam Matson, Brandon Pruett, Jon Watson, Jenna Stubbs, Ashley Walker, Alley Richardson, Jessica Danity, Sue Donovan and Vee Donovan are only a few of the excellent swimmers on this year’s team.
Also helping the team are many new swimmers. “We have a lot of old swimmers and a lot of young swimmers,” Tennant says. “The problem is we don’t have many who are sophmores and juniors, and the seniors can’t do everything. We just need to mature a little.”
Tennant’s goal for this season is to win the division and rank in the top ten in the region. He also hopes to get a relay team to place in the state.
The first meet of the season was on Dec. 7 against Brentwood Academy. Cookeville defeated the team with a boys’ score of 97 to 70 and a girls’ score of 99 to 69. Already qualified for the state swim meet are Jenna Stubbs, Alley Richardson, Jon Watson, Jason Baert, Trevor Mickey, Sam Matson, and Brandon Pruett.
Upcoming home meets include those on Jan. 11 against Lavergne and Feb. 1 against Gallatin. The Regional Competiction is to be held on Feb. 8, and the State tournament will be held on Feb. 22-23. Best of luck to this year’s CHS swim team!
(This page created for the web by Jason Baert)
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