Swimmers, divers have fun and learn basics at WISC championship meet

PHOTO: Mark Whitton,12, from the Saline Stingrays, competes in the 100-meter individual medley race during the Washtenaw Interscholastic Swim Conference championships at Skyline High School on Thursday. (Photo by Mark Bialek) More than 1,600 children swam and dove this week in the Washtenaw Interclub Swim Conference championship, which spanned four days and five sites. Complete swimming results are available here; individual diving results are listed below.

While the swimmers and divers trained all summer to participate in the championship meet, coaches and athletes say WISC is much more about having fun than score watching.

“I don’t let them take this too seriously,” said Brad Huttenga, the diving coach for Racquet Club, which won the diving competition with 265 points. Huron Valley Swim Club came in second with 240 points and first in the swimming portion to win its 35th straight WISC title.

“For us, we have kids who compete, but we’re here to have fun,” Huttenga added. “This is just good competition and good times. Maybe learn some mechanics along the way, but have a good time.”

For emphasis, he pointed over to Anna Demonte, a Huron High School sophomore, who was getting ready to dive - an event in which she rarely participates. “She’s one of the fastest swimmers in the state right now,” Huttenga said, “but she’s just diving for us to score some points for the club and have fun.”

Swimmers and divers also use WISC as a chance to prepare, or stay in shape, for high school swimming and diving. Molly Gelb, who will be a freshman this year at Huron, finished first in the girls 13-14 diving competition, which she hopes will set the tone for a strong start to her high school career.

“(WISC is) especially nice as a start-up before high school,” she said. “All summer, I have something to work for, and then I have high school coming up. I want to try to make it to the state meet this year.”

Since area middle schools don’t have swim teams, WISC serves as a primary feeder for local high schools, which annually perform well at the state championship meets. Francine Hume, who has coordinated the swimming results for decades, said 1,658 swimmers competed in a total of 4,488 events.

“It gives kids more of an opportunity to do this for high school,” said Mandy Eby, the diving coach for Ann Arbor Country Club, as well as a coach for Pioneer High School. “The truth is, our high school programs wouldn’t be nearly what they are without WISC.”

For many children, WISC is their introduction to organized swimming and diving.

“This is a good stepping stone for kids to choose swimming as a year-round sport,” said Maureen Isaac, the WISC swim meet director and swimming coach for Skyline High School. “A lot of them have never seen what’s out there. And it’s really a fun environment even if they’re not competitive.”

Update: More WISC results (11-12) can be found at the Huron Valley Swim Club site.