Making it to state

I always like stories such as these:

http://www.htrnews.com/article/20090830/MAN020507/908300438/1378/MAN02/Lincoln-looks-to-end-state-drought

It's been seven years since Manitowoc Lincoln -- one of the larger high schools in Wisconsin -- has sent a swimmer to the D1 state meet. Sometimes lost in all the speculation about who will win state, and what records may be broken, is that for some teams, simply qualifying for the state meet and competing against the best in Wisconsin is a notable goal and accomplishment.

It's clearly the focus these days for the Manitowoc girls team. Here's an excerpt from the above article:

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Seven years.

It's a fact not lost on Ships' head coach Vance Higdon nor his crew of swimmers, and it's a drought that all involved hope to bring to an end this season.

"We do talk about. If I don't, the girls do. They are so motivated," Higdon said. "We have girls with a lot of desire that go about attacking their times. They really want to lower their times."

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Last Feburary, I noted that Jefferson's boys program ended a 10-year drought when it qualified for the D2 state meet in two individual events and the 200 free relay. There are few more exciting venues for Wisconsin high school athletes to compete in than the UW Natatorium, packed literally to the rafters, during a state high school swim meet. Here's hoping the Manitowoc swimmers can reach their goal this fall.