Winning first place by almost 200 points, the boys’ swim and dive team dominated the Macomb Area Conference (MAC) Championships, hosted by South this year. The hard work the team put in all year paid off at this meet. With a great turnout surrounded by friends and family, the MAC meet was an overall success according to swimmer Peter Costello ’20.

“We won the meet by close to 200 points,” Costello said. “We had four swimmers (the maximum) make it back for the finals in every event. In addition, every single one of our relays took first place.”

South had many prospective swimmers that obtained their state cuts this year. However, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) canceled the meet due to COVID-19 concerns. The whole team was looking forward to doing well, so the announcement was a disappointment, English said.

As a senior swimmer PK Nugent ’20 was very disappointed, even though it wasn’t his best race, the team has been training every day and on Saturday mornings in order for the team to swim their best, and now they can’t finish their season.

“I didn’t have as good of a meet as I wanted to,” Nugent said. “I expected to get my state cut in the 50 freestyle and possibly the 100 breaststroke. However, I still posted some good times and (was able) to watch a lot of entertaining races.”

The MAC Championships consist of all the teams in South’s division, including Grosse Pointe North, Fraser, Dakota, Chippewa, Dakota Eisenhower, and South, according to swimmer Ryan English ’21.

“This meet is always fun because we get to see who will move on to the state meet, and we always do very well,” English said. “In my events at MAC, I won the 200 freestyle and (placed) third in the 500 freestyle. My 400 free relay also took third place.”

According to Nugent, the team was very excited to see their friends in the student section. One advantage of hosting the championships was that the stands were filled with family and friends cheering on the swimmers.

“There were 10 swimmers and one diver that were supposed to go to states this year, which was at the Holland Aquatic Center,” English said. “Unfortunately, the meet got canceled as we were on our way there. It was especially tough for the seniors because that was their last meet ever.”

According to English, South’s team expected to get first at the state meet, and they were seeded first going into the meet, regarding the MAC meet, they also expected to keep their title and win the meet again.

“We have won the MAC red for 20+ years and haven’t lost a conference dual meet in the same time frame. We haven’t lost a duel meet since our coach was on the team,” Costello said.