After rallying to save their team, two boys’ swimmers made their way to the state meet.

Juniors Kyle Willson and Keith Otto, who were two of the many swimmers who helped raise money to keep the swim program afloat, took part in the state meet on Saturday, March 10, at Eastern Michigan University.

"Sometimes, people don’t give the swim team much credit, but it’s time to realize that this team is the real deal," Willson said. "It’s a tough situation where we don’t have a pool or a lot of funding, but all of the swimmers are passionate and we make it work."

After facing obstacles, such as surgery shortly before the season, Willson showed his determination by also making it to the state meet.

Willson finished seventh in the state after being seeded 30th. He also walked away with All-State honors, the second swimmer from Shores to recieve this.

"Before the race, I got pumped up and just thought of all the hard work that I had put in to the season," Willson said. "The rest took care of itself."

Willson managed to swim his 100 breaststroke under one minute, finishing with a time of 59.33, which broke the school record by three seconds.

Otto has amde it to state all three years of his career, but this was the first time he made it as an individual. Otto finished 33rd in the 50 Freestyle