The swimming and diving team placed ninth overall at State this weekend, the highest they have placed since 2004.
“I’m happy with the Top 10 finish, but as a coach I’m always hungry for more,” Joe Schoedel, head coach, said. “We went into the season with a goal of Top 10 at state, which is something we haven’t done since 2004.”
Seniors Kevin Poskin, Nick Davis and Max Roth lead the team. Poskin said the team has really come together and are all really good friends.
“These guys are the people I hang out with, Poskin said. It’s almost like a small cult.”
The team was one of the few St. Louis schools to place in the top tier in State. Parkway Central placed in the Top 5, but other than that MHS was one of the best.
Grant Maloney, sophomore, said there were many key contributors to such a successful season. Poskin, Davis, and Roth led the team, but sophomores and juniors also made contributions. Sam Marlow, sophomore, was a part of the school record- breaking 200 medley relay team,” Maloney said.
Maloney also said the team is a special group of friends and are like brothers to each other.
“Kevin has given me rides home from practice for the past two years. He’s like my older brother,” Maloney said.
Davis swam with his club team last year, leaving a gap in the team’s potential. Davis was a member of the record-breaking relay team. He also broke the 200-meter freestyle school record, placing fifth.
“Obviously Nick was a huge pick up this year, Schoedel said. Poskin did almost all the work at State last year on his own. This year, both he and Davis scored 40 points each, which is what helped us achieve our Top 10 finish.”
Poskin and Maloney both said that having Davis back on the team was crucial to the team’s success in State. Poskin said the was satisfied with the ninth place finish, but said they could have done better.
Marlow, sophomore, swam the backstroke as a part of the record-breaking relay team. Marlow also placed eleventh in the 100-meter backstroke. “Marlow will be one of our top swimmers as a junior and senior,” Maloney said.
Poskin said he wants the underclassmen to succeed in whatever they end up doing, but he doesn’t think they will be able to have a season like they just did.
“We’ll continue to develop our athletes and we’ll see what the future holds for our program,” Schoedel said. “We have a lot of potential to be good for quite some time to come.”
