There are just two weeks left to go until the Girls Swim and Dive Macomb Area Conference Meet. South has won the MAC meet 23 years in a row and they are going for another win this year. The team has been training for months for this meet and they are getting ready to put all their hard work into their swimming.
Captain Maryn Smith ’25 has been to the MAC meet since her freshman year and she knows the ins and outs of what it takes to win as a team.
“Going into championship season, normal practice becomes taper practice,” Smith said. “Which is all about making sure a swimmer’s body peaks at the right time. During this time the swimmers have to make sure they are getting enough rest and fueling their bodies correctly.”
Going into the MAC meet the team splits; swimmers who already have a state cut and those who don’t. This is the last chance for swimmers to get their state cut so that group starts tapering about a week before the meet. Unlike state swimmers who don’t start tapering until after the MAC meet. Heidi Bryan ’26 has been a part of the state team throughout her high school career and she understands what the state team does differently from the rest of the team.
“To prepare for the MAC meet we split into two groups,” Bryan said. “Those who have qualified for the state meet already, and those who are trying to get a state cut or who are finishing up their season at MAC meet. These groups focus on different things. Those who start tapering where they build up a lot of yardage and then slowly do less and less. For state swimmers there isn’t a lot of preparation, it’s normal workouts with a day of rest before MAC.”
The team is strong going into the championship season. In MHSAA Division Two all three relays are seated top eight as well as many individual swimmers. Head Coach John Fodell is excited to see some fast swims from everyone, to drop time and get some more state cuts.
“A lot of the work is already done,” Fodell said. “Now it’s starting to rest, do more speed work, we are just sharpening the sword so we are ready to swim fast on the first day of MAC. The energy needs to be there and everyone needs to get hype and focused. It’s exciting to have a fast meet in our pool again.”
