03/16/2026
The varsity boys swim season came to a close this past weekend at the Division 3 State Meet. Senior Parker Zaucha, a 4-year varsity letter winner and team captain, competed in the 200 IM and the 500 Free (20 lengths of the pool). This was Parker's fourth year competing in the state meet and he ended his high school career on a high note!
Parker was seeded 38th in the 200 IM and was able to drop 3.26 seconds to move up to 26th place with a time of 2:10.19. Overall, in this event, Parker had a drop of over 8.58 seconds.
In the 500 Free, Parker qualified for Finals for the third year in a row. He swam a personal best, re-breaking his own school record with a time of 5:00.40 to place 14th. Overall, in this event, Parker dropped 36.73 seconds.
Junior Jacob Guy, a three-year varsity letter winner and team captain, qualified for his first individual event in a state meet, the 100 Backstroke. Last year at the state meet, Jacob was part of the team's qualifying relays.
Jacob kept everyone in suspense, not qualifying until the last day of our league championship meet on February 28th, with a time of 59.95; the state-qualifying time was 59.99. Going into prelims, Jacob was seeded in 39th, last place.
Despite an equipment malfunction, though no fault of his own, Jacob was able to drop 1.06 seconds to move up to 33rd place with a personal best swim of 58.93. Overall, Jacob dropped 7.32 seconds, having only competed in this event 4 times before qualifying.
What makes these accomplishments even more impressive is that Parker & Jacob did this without a home pool for 39 practices. The swim season started on November 24th and on December 31st the Eaton Rapids pool had to be shut down for repairs, which lasted until February 9th, when the team was finally able to come home for practices. This closure meant no home meets, so Parker's senior night had to be hosted at Mason during our dual meet. This also included transporting themselves to either Holt High School or Charlotte Aquatic Center every day, including Saturdays, for practices.
These two boys had 70 practices and swam over 344,778 yards, equal to 195 miles. Of the 15 swim teams in our conference, Parker is ranked 4th in the 500, while Jacob is ranked 8th in the 100 backstroke. Two of our relays are also ranked in the Top 10. The Medley Relay of Noah Finnerty, Parker Zaucha, Jacob Guy and Daniel Beaver is ranked 8th. Our 400 Free Relay of Jacob Guy, Noah Anderson, Daniel Beaver and Parker Zaucha is ranked 10th.
It was a great season in which the entire team worked hard and showed immense fortitude through the ups and downs of the past three months.
Congratulations Parker & Jacob on reaching your goals and concluding your season with FAST SWIMS!!
