Girls Swim And Dive Stays Strong

Natalie Stafford
Starting in early August and ending in late November, Brighton’s Girls Swim and Dive team works long and hard for their victories. Coach Jason Black helps the girls through his hard practices and is a big part of why the team is so successful. Black’s practices and meet line ups are among some of the best.
With the dissolvement of the division they once conquered, the teams are now battling over the “Division Champs” title through dual meets. Brighton has currently lost one dual meet to the Saline Swim Team, but is otherwise undefeated, even against teams like Ann Arbor Skyline and Livonia Stevenson.
With the graduation of 11 seniors, including State Champion Taylor Seaman, the team was brought down to 22 swimmers and three divers. However, the small team is still swimming hard and taking wins.
“It is such an honor and a great opportunity to be a captain and role model for such a great group of girls. We keep each other motivated and working hard,” Captain Megan Lubinski said.
Lubinski has been swimming competitively since she was seven years old, and said that Coach Black has helped her in many ways. Black has helped her to get through the tough training side of swimming in order to achieve her season goals of competing to her best ability, getting her best time at the state meet, and breaking all three of the relay records.
Swimming in very early in the morning would be tough for everyone, but swimmers are in the pool at 5:30 a.m every Monday and Wednesday morning, coached by Assistant Coach Shawn and his “famous” 5x200s.
“Waking up at 4:30 (a.m.) is always hard, but the success from it is always worth it,” sophomore Ellie Maples said.
Coach Black has been skillfully training most of the girls for their entire high school swimming careers. Last year, junior Chloe Reed won the most improved at the team banquette for going from a low 5.12 in her 500 Freestyle at the conference meet to a 5.01.79 at the state meet within a few weeks. She was .79 seconds off of the school record.
“The practices are hard, but the team makes up for it,” sophomore Rachel Fiorini said.
Fiorini’s siblings were all apart of the Brighton Swim and Dive team at one point or another.
On Thursday, October 12th, Brighton versed Livonia Stevenson at home. According to Coach Black’s calculations, it should have been a very close meet, but BHS beat the opposing team by a whopping 80 points. The other coach said he was resting some girls for the MISCA meet the following Saturday, but it was still a fun meet and a good dub for Brighton.
Coach Black added another away meet against Saline for Tuesday October 17th, to see how the team had progressed from last year. Another exciting Senior Night is scheduled for Thursday, October 19th.