Gear up for the Real ” SHO”!!!
ただいまです。State大会から帰って来ました、お疲れマリリンです大雪に見舞われ、大会スケジュ-ルは変更になるし、1日目は、レストランも、ショップもどこもCloseだったりで、さんざんな目に合いましたが、二日目は、アンティ-クショップめぐりなどする時間もあり、おいしいランチも食べられ、なかなか楽しいいい旅でした風邪は随分良くなったんだけど、応援で声、張り上げて、どっかのおっさんみたいな声になってしまいさて。水泳番長SHちゃん。二日目、100Ba&400Frリレ-。Ba。WPIAL(地区大会決勝)より、少々ながらも、きっちりベストを出したにも拘らず、、、なんなんだぁ~???アメリカ人のこの底力は~???たったの2週間で、2秒もベストを出す、アホがいる~地区大会で、流してたとも思えんのよ。皆、真剣だったと思うのよ。地区大会で優勝ゲットするのだって大変なんだから。なのに、、、なんなんだぁ~???この人たちは~???軒並み、ビッグベスト連発。。。結果。SHちゃん、ベスト出したにも拘らず、10位とアイナリマシタ。ちゃんちゃん。。。Freshmanでは1位なのかとばっかり思ってたら、昨日、大会記録、再チェックしてびっくり。0.02秒差で、SHより速いFreshmanもいたし。。。クヲ~(この子も信じられない短期間大ベスト達成。なんなんだぁ~!!!)帰宅後、新聞を読んだら。州大会前に出された新聞。”Can you beleive Sho lost?”で、始まる、この記事。。。SHを攻める、いじめ記事かよ~。と、一瞬泣きいやいや。そうじゃない。いい文、書いてくれてると思います。ステイツ大会に向けて、Gear upだ~!!!って、書いてあるけど、、、。すみません。。。周りを踏み潰し、Crack!な結果にはなりませんでした。しかぁ~し!SH。水泳人生。まだまだこれから。面白くなってきたじゃないの!強豪揃いの、誰か勝つかわからない茨の道。茨の水の中を、進め!SH!本物の自分になれ!Gear up for the real ”SHO”!!!↓以下、The Almanac新聞より。Sugimoto geared up for the real “Sho”by Eleanor Bailey, Sports Editor~Lebo swimmers prepared to be at best for states~"Can you believe Sho lost?" Swimmers whispered those shocked sentiments recently at Trees Pool during the WPIAL championships.By a fraction of a split second, .21 to be exact, Sho Sugimoto of Mt. Lebanon, the No. 1 seed in the event, placed behind defending champion Dan Smith of Peters Township in the finals of the 100-yard backstroke.The result, however, was hardly a defeat.Neither was Sugimoto's third-place showing in the 200-yard individual medley. In that race, the 15-year-old freshman posted a fourth-place time of 158.80. Smith led a 1-2 PT finish with Matthew Connor with marks of 1:56.02 and 1:57.26. Peter Coulson of Fox Chapel took the bronze medal in 1:58.04."Sho has lifetime-best times," explained his coach, Don Wagner. "But, here at Mt. Lebanon, we want Sho swimming his best when it means the most."If you are a swimmer, then you want to be at your best when the competition is at its greatest. To do otherwise, I think, is a mistake."In scholastic swimming, there is no mistaking this week presents prime competition as the PIAA hosts its state champion-ship meet, March 15 to 17, at Bucknell University in Lewisburg.Sugimoto enters the backstroke seeded No.6. Smith is seeded No. 4 while Cody Weik of Cedar Crest is No. 1 with a 51.96 time.In the IM, Sugimoto has the 18th best time. Weik is top-seeded with a 1:53.22 time. Smith is ranked No. 2."My philosophy is a lot different than most around here," said Wagner, who coached in the Division I college ranks and has trained Olympians such as the gold medalist Janet Evans. "The WPIAL is a good program and to win here is all well and good but my idea is that if the WPIAL gets you to the state meet, then do what you need to do to get there."I tip my hat to the kids who win here but I don't want my guys living in a fish bowl. I want my guys seeing a bigger picture."The big picture at Mt. Leba-non is that swimming is on an upturn under Wagner. In the district finals, the Lebo boys placed fifth in the team standings with a 179 score. In addition to Sugimoto, the Blue Devils advanced two relay teams to this week's state champion-ships.The 200 medley unit of Sugimoto, Dante Fuoco, Zachary and Michael Rosen finished fifth. The team is seeded No. 19.400 free relay of Sugimoto, Sam Wilshire and the Rosen brothers placed third in the district. The group enters the state meet seeded No. 18."All those guys are back next year," Wagner said referring to the Rosens, who are sophomores, Wilshire, who is just a freshman along with Sugimoto and Fuoco, who is a junior. "They are all only going to get better."I'm real happy with their performances. I'm happy with all the swimmers in the program."Wagner is equally pleased with the the Lebo ladies though they qualified only one swimmer for the state meet. Senior Lydia Pagliari is seeded No. 24 in the 100 breastroke with a 1:09.32 time. "We have a nice future ahead of us. My swimmers work and train real hard and they deserve whatever they get."At the very least, according to Wagner, the Lebo swimmers get a sport forever. "Swimming is fitness for a lifetime," he said.