Unbeaten in the Saginaw Valley League, the Dow swimming team has turned its focus toward the league championships on Thursday, February 21. With a win there, the Chargers will have won their 11th straight conference championship.
“We’re fortunate to have the four fastest guys in the Valley all swimming on our team (Nehemiah Mork, Jackson Goethe, Michael Pixton, and Ben Martin),” 12th-year head coach Gary Strickler said. “We have some really good top-end guys. The relays that they put together are ranked number one in Division 2 in the 400 free relay and ranked second in the 200 free relay. I think in this meet we’re going to let them swim their best events and get ready for states as opposed to spreading them out through all the events. We have a lot of depth. We have anywhere from six to eight guys that can score in every event. We have the largest team, but we also have the deepest team in terms of how many people participate and contribute to our success.”
Some of those top-end guys have already qualified for the state final meet. They are Goethe (senior, 50 and 100 free, ranked second in both events), Martin (senior, ranked first in 100 butterfly, third in 200 individual medley, 2012 state champ in IM), Pixton (senior, 200 and 500 free), Nick Pixton (freshman, 50 free, butterfly), Mork (freshman, 50 free, butterfly) and Zach Hoffman (sophomore, butterfly, backstroke).
“We’ve already qualified six individuals and all three relays,” Strickler said. “We’re hoping three or more guys will qualify at the Valley meet once they’re rested.”
Last year the Chargers finished fifth as a team at state, though Strickler feels the squad can move up the ranks this year.
“It all depends on who shows up on that Friday and how fast they are,” he said. “There’s a lot of dynamics on what the finish is, but I think going into it, we’re in the hunt for a top four finish.”