By Lilian Huynh & Natalie Thomas
Fentonian
Fenton HS
1st Place Division 3, Yearbook Verbal
Sports Feature Writing
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Clear, relevant, engaging feature angle
- Solid lead that draws reader into story
- Meaningful student quotes that enrich story and reflect effective interviewing
- Evidence of adequate research
- Story meaningfully adds to sports coverage
- Adheres to rules of good journalism including: short paragraphs, effective transitions and use of active voice, freedom from editorial comment, careful editing and proofreading to eliminate mechanical errors, correct use of grammar
Ready to focus on the task ahead, junior Joel Diccion blocked out the sounds around him. The whistles signaled the heat in front of him had ended, but the cheering from the crowd continued.
As soon as the crowd became silent, Diccion knew it was time to execute what he had been visualizing since freshman year. The process had become muscle memory: stepping onto the block after a long whistle, hearing “swimmers take your mark,” and finally jumping into the water.
“One of my major goals since I was a freshman was to break the 100 backstroke record,” Diccion said. “My thought going into the state meet was, ‘I can do this. I’m going to break the record.’” I was nervous at first, but I knew I just had to put my faith in the training I’ve done for the past seven years. After the event was complete, I realized I broke the school record; it was a huge relief.”
Diccion broke the 100 yard backstroke record set by Jason Spees in 1991. The 28-year-old record was 54.11. Diccion was able to beat it by .16 seconds, earning a time of 53.95 and placing 14th. Diccion also swam in two other events, the 200 IM and 200 medley with sophomore Gavin Crews and seniors Evan Bartow and Noah Maier.
“Overall, the team placed fairly well at states,” Bartow said. “We were able to finish 12th in the medley and I personally placed 13th in the 500 freestyle, which was one of our biggest events this year. Four guys is the most we’ve sent to states for one event.”
Once the state meet ended, the swimmers were able to celebrate and put the early morning and afternoon practices behind them. For the underclassmen who would be retuning to the team, it would be nearly nine months before they would hear the cheers from thee crowd again.