Arrow swim teams finish another solid season

By Datti Jinkiri

The Clinton High School swim teams recently completed another successful season in the pool. The boys’ and girls’ squads competed in seven meets, and the two teams qualified a total of fifteen swimmers for the MHSAA Class II State Championship meet. Marcy Rushing coaches the teams and says she was pleased with the season overall.

“We started practicing a few weeks earlier than we have in the past, and I think this really paid off in the end for our whole team,” Rushing stated.

“The swimmers put in some good work in and out of the classroom this year.”

The boys’ team began the season with a victory over both Germantown and Newton County in Madison. Another highlight included finishing in second place at the Madison Central Invitational. Propelled by a couple of point-scoring relays, the boys’ team was able to end the season with a tenth-place finish at the state championship meet. A nice fourth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle and a seventh-place finish in the 200-yard medley was key in helping the team grab points.

“Our men’s team showed a lot of character trying to come back from a COVID year,” Rushing said. “They proved that they could be a top-ten team in the state after having setbacks last year.”

Experience coupled with good young talent was instrumental in helping the Arrows to a top-ten finish.

“The key to making top-ten at state was my upperclassmen. I have some experienced guys that are seniors this year that stepped up to have some great relays at the state meet,” Rushing stated. “Colin Guan also scored individually in both of his events at state as a freshman.”

Guan, a freshman, scored points in two individual events. He racked up seventh-place finishes in both the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard breaststroke and will be one of the team’s key returners next season.

The girls’ team sent three relay teams (200-yard medley, 200-yard freestyle, 400-yard freestyle) to the semifinals of the state championship meet. This was an impressive accomplishment for a young team that rostered nine seventh- and eighth-graders this past season.

“This season was a rebuilding process on my women’s team,” Rushing said. “They were very young this year but will continue to show strength in the coming years.”

One of the highlights of the girls’ season was finishing in second at the Madison Central Invitational. The relay teams were a strength in that meet as well, as the 200-yard medley team (Ashlee Sumrall, Abbie Rushing, Leah Johnson, Sarah Rhodes) and 400-yard freestyle team (Celia Pennington, Tejasvi Uppu, Rhodes, Johnson) each tallied third-place finishes.

“The girls will make a great team in a few years, with a lot of hard work,” Rushing optimistically stated. “I am proud that they qualified for three relays this year, especially being so young.”

This is Rushing’s third season coaching the Arrows. She was a highly decorated collegiate swimmer at the University of Alabama, where she earned three NCAA All-American honors and broke multiple school records.

She also coaches with the Mississippi Makos Swim Team. Many of her high school athletes swim year-round with the team, so the extra competition keeps them in shape throughout the year. This is one of the reasons that Rushing is already looking to next season.

“I am looking for big improvements on my women’s side next year,” she stated. “We will also have to have a few of the boys step up to replace a few seniors next year.”

“They have to continue to train year round with Makos to see improvements at State next year,” Rushing continued. “I want my swimmers to experience not only their best swim times, but also learn that swimming is a lifelong sport that I hope they will come back to one day.”