By Riley Holder
Review Special Writer
The Lake Orion girls swim and dive team showed they are a prime time program with a ninth place finish at the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 1 swimming and diving championships at Oakland University.
The event was a two day ordeal that began’on Friday’and concluded’on Saturday last week.
The Dragons were one of 52 teams in attendance. A total of seven Lake Orion swimmers qualified for the state meet. With a score of 109, the Dragons received ninth place, their best finish in school history.
?????’We did awesome. Three years ago we finished twelfth and we had a state champion that year, but this was the first time that all seven participants qualified and represented us in either one or multiple swims,? head coach Darin Abbasse said.
?????’In addition to a top 10 finish at the state championships, the team also broke five school records. Among the record breakers were Bethany Abramczyk in both the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle, and Lydia Mattar in the 100 breaststroke. The other two records were broken by the 200 medley and 200 freestyle relay teams. As a result of their sixth place finish, each individual on the 200 freestyle relay team, which consisted of Abramcyzk, Kirstyn Abbasse, Paige Munro, and Danielle Kudla, received all state honors.
??????’All of them stood out because this was definitely a team effort. If you take one individual off the team we’re not in ninth place, so they all were very important. I think receiving all state honors, which some of them did, is just a great accomplishment,? Coach Abbasse said. ‘All in all they’ve really done a great job throughout the season, with our fifth place finish at the Oakland County Championships, and then our ninth place finish at the state meet. We established that we’re a quality program.?
?????’While the positive results of the state championships are still fresh in the minds of the swimmers and their coach, speculation about next year’s season has already begun. Of the seven girls who qualified for the state meet, only one is a senior, so six of the seven will be back and ready to compete next season.
?????’The expectation [for next season] is that we’re going to improve on our ninth place finish, and hopefully break or get close to a top five finish. That’s what we’re progressing towards,? Coach Abbasse said.
???’Without a doubt the squad swam to new heights this season by finishing better than any girls swim and dive team in Lake Orion history.
With so much youth, and in hopes of building on this season’s incredible finish, the thoughts of what next year’s team might accomplish have already begun.