Aaron Clark had something happen to him that had never happened before during Saturday’s State meet in Topeka.
And he’d like to never have it happen again.
During the consolation finals of the 100-yard freestyle race, Clark’s goggles filled with water on his dive into the water at the start, the first time that had ever occurred for Clark in a swim meet.
“That was pretty bad,” Clark said. “It was really frustrating, because I couldn’t see anything.”
By the first turn, Clark said his goggles had fallen to his chin, at which point he pulled them completely down to his neck. A frustrated Clark went into the consolation finals with the top time, but came away with a last-place finish, leaving him at 16th place overall.
“He probably would have won the consolation finals,” EHS coach Bob Yevak said, “but as soon as he lost them (the goggles), any chance of winning it was over.”
So what did Clark do with those goggles?
“He threw them away,” Yevak said. “We’re starting from scratch for next year.”
Clark, the Centennial League champion in both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events, was the only individual qualifier for the Spartans. However, in addition to his goggles mishap in the 100, he struggled in the 50-yard race, finishing 24th.
Though he advanced to Saturday after Friday’s semifinals, Clark said the experience had its ups and downs, particularly on Saturday when he was the only EHS competitor at the meet.
“It was a wonderful experience definitely ... but I didn’t like swimming by myself on Saturday,” he said. “I wish we could have had some other people have a second swim. But we’ll definitely get there next year.”
Clark, along with TJ Michaels, Adam Coburn and Cord Stanley, was part of the 400-yard relay squad that made it to the State meet on a consideration time as the last team in. Though it was seeded last headed into the meet, the EHS team took 7 seconds off its time — two seconds faster than the State qualifying time — to finish 21st out of 32 teams.
“We swam unbelievable,” Yevak said. “Even some coaches on the other side of the pool were cheering for us.”
Emporia’s two divers, freshmen Mason Mounkes and Derek Krause, turned in 13th and 21st finishes, respectively.
Krause just missed the cut at 20, while Mounkes entered Saturday’s semifinals in 10th place before dropping to 13th in the finals.
“Two freshmen divers, you talk about pressure,” Clark said. “They really did well.”
Overall, Emporia finished 32nd as a team, while Shawnee Mission East won the team title.
“I was proud of all of them all,” Yevak said. “They all swam and dove well.”