last high school state

state. it's always felt like sort of an afterthought to me because there's so much emphasis on districts and just making it to state. i suppose the jordan huffs of the world would have a different take on it....anyway. the day didn't start off great - jake found two holes in his brand new lzr. not holes that would affect his swim physically, but i think it threw him a little mentally....who knows. jake went in seeded 10th, swam almost exactly the same time he swam at districts (put on 3 hundredths) but certainly proves that he's in great shape and it wasn't just a fluke. i think there was some disappointment that he didn't get the Lincoln record, but overall it was a great season for him. A complete and utter turnaround from last year's struggles. slipped a few spots in the 200, but gained a few spots in the 100, weird. the relay dropped a second or so, super proud to see both my boys swimming at state. next up - club state and then a little break from swimming. great job jake.

districts

an absolute emotional rollercoaster of a day, start to finish. here are some of the highs and the lows in no particular order:
HIGH - watching jake put together what was arguably the best race of his career...200 free - seeded in the 6th lane, wins it with a 1:48.21 (tied with the #1 seed charlie hogan, but still a win!) ranked 10th going into state!!!!!! I was on the deck timing his freshman year when he swam a great 500 to make it to state, and i was on the deck timing for this one..got pretty emotional - probably too emotional for an official timer:) lots of screaming, jumping up and down, a little crying, a lot of hugging jake.
HIGH - jake swimming a great 100 free with a time of 49.78 to make it to state ranked 20th
HIGH - brady swimming his best 200 free ever with a time of 1:55.9
low - brady missing the cut in the 500 free
HIGH - 400 free relay swimming a great race and making it to state: swim order= luis, brady, zac, jake in a 3:25.44 for a rank of 19th in the state.
low - no one else on the Lincoln team making it in an individual race - insanely fast field across the state this year, fastest cut times in the last 5 years at least...lots of near misses
HIGH - watching the other seniors, dos and stephen particularly, put together great races to take them to state one last time...
low - thinking i lost my camera with all the pictures of the day
HIGH - andy finding my camera in our bathroom at home...whoops!

what a great day, so glad jake and brady will experience a state meet together, a perfect way to cap off jake's high school career!

close shave

ever hosted a head-shaving party? no? here's what you need. 13 swimmers, 4 pounds of pasta, 3 jars of sauce (yeah i really went all out), 2 huge loaves of bread, salad, 2 cakes, and MORE than 2 clippers:) turns out good functional clippers are the key to quick shaves....duh. all their hair was so fried that we nearly burned out the clippers....and speaking of burns - DON'T use clippers on eyebrows after they've been in heavy use for an hour or so. right jake? everybody took turns shaving each other, kids shaving kids, parents shaving kids (no kids shaving parents) and brady couldn't wait to get at jake's beard:) i think everybody had fun and is fired up for districts. jake and zac got lzr suits and couldn't be happier about it. i think it will give them that 'boost' they need psychologically. brayton's certainly got 'em in great physical shape, now they just have to believe they can do it. good luck everybody:)

conference meet

conference went...and that's about it. it went. jake would have really liked to win this meet - just once - but roosevelt managed to win the whole enchilada with just one first place swim....again. took some of the sting out of it that dos got their only win with a great 50 free. None of the boys had super swims, but taper's just starting and hopefully they'll show up next weekend in a big way. that's when it really counts anyway. Jake won the 200 by the skin of his teeth, and the 100. Brady won the 500 and they won the 400 free relay. funny to have brady's firsts with jake's lasts.....first/last conference..first/last districts...first/last state!

is that all?

thanks to the artic blast that blew their original meet out of the water, the boys traveled to Ft. Dodge for a makeup meet. jake's last regulation meet. he didn't swim his normal events, he's almost always in the 400 free relay - the last event of every meet - but coach switched things up so i didn't even notice his last swim. seriously? years of this and i missed it!! but jake and brady graciously took the time to pose for some very serious portraits, lessening the blow. congrats on a great high school career jakey....more to come post season:)