Crossing the finish line, senior Preston Harrison knew that he had just accomplished something extraordinary. Harrison dove off the block knowing he was in a good position to win it all in the 100-yard butterfly. He had just had his best time of the season and broke the league record so his confidence was high going into the state meet.

“Winning league helped a lot,” Harrison said. “I knew that I was on track to do something good. I wasn’t in a fast suit or shaved so being able to go that time, and a record, helped to give me confidence in my ability to have a good race the following weekend.”

Harrison paced the Indians team and placed first in the 100 fly with a time of 49.88 seconds, he became the first Manhattan High School student to get first in state in 9 years.

“It’s incredible,” Harrison said. “It just shows that all of my hard work has paid off.”

He also placed second in the 100-yard backstroke, finishing in 51.76 seconds. Harrison also competed in two relay teams that featured fellow senior Cole Dudley, junior Suman Wang, and sophomore Xander Say.  

“There was a lot of excitement,”  Wang said. “We knew this was the end of the season and the last high school meet we would swim with our seniors.”

The relays competed in the 400 freestyle where they placed seventh and the 200 medley where they placed ninth.

Junior Zane Kohl was the only diver to compete in the meet and he flipped his way to a third place finish. His points helped the Indians secure a 10th place finish overall.

“At the end of finals,” Wang said. “I remember standing behind the blocks with our team and just reminiscing about all the memories that we’ve made and it really got me excited to swim.”