New swimmers take the lead for Jordan

Learning a new sport can be tough. Learning one that requires seven practice sessions a week, each requiring 9,000 yards, or more than 5 miles of work can make it even tougher.

Many athletes on the Jordan High School swim team are experiencing just that. After never swimming competitively before, they are now entering the pool alongside accomplished high school swimmers. And, according to head coach Anna Carver, they are performing surprisingly well.

“A lot of people on our team are new to swimming, but they are already showing a lot of potential for what they can bring to our team in the future,” Carver said.

One of these newcomers is sophomore Maddie Maddocks who, despite her lack of experience in the pool, has already become the No. 2 swimmer on the team.

“She really is a natural athlete,” Carver said.

For the boys, freshman Trevor Cross, who has also never swam competitively before, is impressing his coach and, according to Carver, “shows quite a bit of potential.”

Now past the midway point of the season, the Beetdiggers have yet to win any meets. They are relying, however, on these new swimmers, as well as several younger but returning swimmers, to continuing improving the team’s record through to the end of the season.

“Our goal is to keep improving and dropping as much time as we can in each of our meets,” Carver said. “If we can do that, we hope to have a handful of swimmers compete at the state tournament.”

Jordan only sent one swimmer, Olivia Leonhardt, to the state competition last year. Now that she has graduated, many other swimmers are looking to follow her example by improving their times and making their own way to state.

According to Carver, three swimmers on the boys team, all juniors, are hopefuls for appearing at state this year. Jake Stepan competes as the team’s top distance and sprinter swimmer, but mostly competes in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle. B.J. Brockbank and Landon Cline both compete for the team in the 100-yard breaststroke.

On the girls’ side, sophomore Sam Hyer is leading the way for the Beetdiggers. “She works really hard to improve herself,” Carver said. “She has about 99 percent attendance at practices, and she is a good leader for the team.”

Even with young and somewhat inexperienced talent on her team, Carver sees the potential that her swimmers may have for this year and in future seasons.

“This is a hard sport, especially for those that are new at it,” she said. “But as coaches, we work hard to get them to achieve personal bests. Hopefully, that will keep them improving and motivated to win region meets and compete at state.”