Sports
Wyandotte Swim Team Perfect in Regular Season
The Wyandotte Roosevelt swimming and diving team wrapped up an undefeated regular season Tuesday with a win against Woodhaven. In the process of staying perfect, seven swimmers qualified for the Division 2 state finals.
The swimming and diving team traveled to Woodhaven on Tuesday night and finished off an undefeated regular season with a 103-83 win.
With the regular season over, the Bears, who are coached by Sue Alt and Sam Randazzo, are preparing for the Downriver League meets and finals next week.
On Tuesday against the Warriors, junior Jesse Knowles won the 500-yard freestyle event and the 200-yard individual medley. Sophomore Collin Olson captured both the 50 and 100-yard freestyle events, while Knowles, along with senior Alex Pappas and juniors Sean Pearce and Tom Martin, won the 200-yard medley relay.
Find out what's happening in Wyandottewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
In diving on Tuesday, Wyandotte sophomores Garrid Blair, Matt Dube and Jaimie Williams finished first, second and third, respectively.
Tuesday’s performance against the Warriors was typical for the Roosevelt team, as the Bears started the 2011-12 regular season strong and never looked back.
Find out what's happening in Wyandottewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On Dec. 15, Roosevelt kicked off the campaign with a 104-82 win at home against Belleville. During the meet, Knowles posted a Division 2 state-qualifying time of 1:04.77 in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Overall, Wyandotte’s impressive run this season has included a total of seven swimmers qualifying for states.
As early-season action continued, the Bears took first place at the Downriver League Relays, which were hosted in Wyandotte on Dec. 17.
In the last meet before the holiday break, on Dec. 22, Roosevelt won 11 of 12 events at home against the consolidated Southgate Anderson and Gibraltar Carlson squad.
2012 began with a big 112-74 . The team then went on to capture key victories against Lincoln Park and Garden City, as well as a first-place finish in a local tournament.
With the Bears on a roll, they hosted Inkster on Jan. 26, beating the Vikings 94-78 and in the process snapping two long-standing school records. The team of Pappas, Simmons, Knowles and Olson did the damage both times, taking down a 39-year record in the 200-yard medley relay and a 200-yard freestyle relay record that had stood since 1998.
Through February, the Roosevelt squad still couldn’t be stopped as it knocked off Downriver League foes Riverview, Allen Park and Woodhaven.
As the Bears stayed strong down the stretch, contributions kept coming from multiple swimmers. Among them were senior Tyler Green, who was strong in the 200-yard freestyle, freshman Robert Shockley, who was impressive in the 500-yard freestyle and freshman Jon Broge, who performed well in the 200-yard IM.
Big performances in the pool this season have also come from juniors Trevor Tam and Cody Reichow and sophomores Owen Jablonski, Danny May, Evan Perovich and Bret Livingston.
Roosevelt will next see action at the Downriver League meets and finals, taking place Feb. 22-24 in Woodhaven.
With seven swimmers qualifying for the Division 2 state finals, the Bears will be well represented at the event, which will take place in Holland March 9-10.
Making the trip from Wyandotte to the compete in the state finals will be:
- Alex Pappas - Senior
- Josh Simmons - Senior
- Jesse Knowles - Junior
- Sean Pearce - Junior
- Tom Martin - Junior
- Collin Olson - Sophomore
- Danny May - Sophomore
