Know when to hold 'em,........ how about knowing HOW to hold 'em?

I bet you didn't think of high school swimmers as such big gamblers. 

They do in the water!


Yep,at the end of the season, you taper, but for what end point? Sections or State, State or Sections, what should I do?

"I gotta place at Sections to make state, but if I taper for Sections to make State, do I have anything left FOR State?"

CAN I HOLD MY TAPER?

Or do I taper for state, planning on making state by place or time standard, and GAMBLE with my State appearance as it twere.

OH WHAT TO DO?

The Winhawks gambled and might have rolled snake eyes. They qualified more people and events for State than in recent history.

Best times all around, and a contingent going to the Big Show, but in Swimming, what goes down, must come up.

It is just a matter of when. Could be inactivity, could be age, or it could be post-taper!

The Medley Relay was the First Winhawk stab at seeing if the taper held.
The girls were ready, they were psyc'ed, I could tell, they were staring right at me at the end of Lane 2. The Winhawks had the 14th seed, could they hold their times, or would they slip? They slipped but so did practically everyone else.

Of the top eight finishers 6 dropped time in the prelims. Of the remaining 19 teams, 3 held their seed and the majority, 13 got slower since Sections. The Winhawks slid from 14th seed to finish in 21st place.

The 50 Freestyle has little room for fluctuation. Alex was seeded 12th. She slid, just a hair off her seed, a mere 14 hundredths.
But that was enough to slide her back into a tie for 16th place.
There would have to be a swim off to determine who got to come back Saturday and swim, and who just came back Saturday.
In the swim off (at the end of the Prelims), Alex duplicates her previous swim right down to the hundredth, (24.55 seconds) but her competitor drops more time than earlier and takes the Finals appearance away form Alex.

Haley was the 17th seed. She needed to drop even more time from Sections to pass Alex and make it up into the finals. She couldn't hold her taper here either and adds a mere 6 tenths which is 75 hundredths more than will make Finals.


Next up after a break is the 100 Freestyle and Haley swimming in the 20th seed. Dropping time and moving up 4 spots in a 53 second race is a tall order.
Seeds 1-9 all dropped time, the next 14 of 17 gained time, as did Haley, and another prelims hope was dashed.

The 200 Freestyle Relay was next, and it was a similar story. All the girls gained time from Sections, anywhere from 11 hundredths to 6 tenths, but that was enough.
The Winhawks finished in 23rd place.

Alex Zuelke was the last Winhawk to hit the water in prelims, her 100 Breaststroke at Sections was magnificent to watch.
Here at State, she only fell off her Sections time by 6 tenths, but that was 2 tenths too much, and she finishes 17th, one place out of Consolation Finals.

Now for Finals Day, the Winhawks have Crystal Franzwa, Sr. Co-Captain Diver to cheer on. Sitting in 10th, she has an excellent chance to make the podium stand. 

The swimming Winhawks had a great season. They also learned a lot about tapers, how to plan them, and the gamble on when to end them.