It ain't over till it's over

Day 2 of Regionals was a real emotional roller-coaster, one that we'll be on through tomorrow night.

First the great news: Samantha Garrett qualified in 2 individual events for the State competition in Louisville next weekend, as did the girls' 200-yard freestyle relay. Go, lady Eagles!

After the girls' 200-yard relay locked in their ticket to State by finishing second in 1:50.94 (compared to the previous day's 1:53.81), there was a LOT of rejoicing at the spectator end of the pool. A circle of girls enveloped Coach Mason--who was completely overcome with emotion--in a giant hug:



Soon it was time for what we hoped would be a similar outcome for the boys' 200-yard freestyle relay. The boys had already taken a fifth-place finish in the 200-yard medley relay earlier in the afternoon, although they did drop their time from 1:52.51 to 1:50.51. The 200-yard freestyle relay was really their best chance at State, and it seemed certain that the girls' recent success in that event was a good omen.

They swam wonderfully, although at 1:37.63 they were just a smidge over the previous day's time of 1:36.87. You have to remember that all season, their eyes have been on breaking the 1:40 barrier, so this is just tremendous. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for one of the first 2 places, which would have meant a guaranteed trip to State, and they finished fourth.

As high as the Fort Knox fans had felt only moments before, that's how crushed the mood was after that relay. Mike didn't have too long to wallow in the misery though before it was time for his 100-yard breaststroke. He did amazing! Finished first in his heat for seventh place in our region with a time of 1:07.76 (down from 1:09.14 the day before, which was his first time ever going under 1:10):



Five minutes later, he was back in the pool with the 400-yard freestyle relay, which came in fourth with a time of 3:47.47, a full second off the previous day's 3:48.50.

The way that the competition is put together for State, the first 2 finishers from each of 5 regions in each event go. Then all remaining times across the state are ranked by speed, and the next 14 fastest competitors receive invitations as well. People who know what they are talking about in the world of swimming say that our boys have a chance of getting this call tomorrow night for their 200-yard freestyle relay.

And so we wait. Either the boys' season is over . . . or it isn't. Hard to know what to do or say. Mike has his gear packed and is ready to head out for 6 a.m. practice tomorrow so that if the call comes, he won't have missed a day of preparation. Oh, how I hope the call comes!

But whether they get a call or they don't, I wanted to take a moment to recognize what tremendous strides the team has made this year. I remember in Mike's sophomore year, his second year on the team, when the coach said at the end of the first day of Regionals that she thought we might have some kids qualified for the second day. Our reaction: "There's a SECOND day?!" Knox certainly hadn't made it that far in a number of years.

In 2007, Mike's first year swimming, neither team made the final rankings at the end of the meet. In 2008, our girls were in thirteenth place and our boys in fifteenth. In 2009, the girls were in tenth place and the boys were in twelfth. And this year, darned if both teams didn't finish sixth, putting the combined team in fourth place for the WHOLE FLIPPIN' MEET! They took runner-up in the team spirit category. And this Friday, Fort Knox will be represented at the State competition!

I guess it's true what they say: Knox does indeed rock the blocks!