Another weekly assembly and another State sendoff…this time the honoree is junior swimmer Morgan Whyte.

Morgan qualifed in the 200 freestyle event.  After climbing through the rankings in girl’s swimming this year, Whyte returns for her third  State meet in girls’ swimming.

Whyte has been competitively swimming since she was 8, and the years of practice are paying dividends with her finishings throughout the year and through sections. This is Whyte’s fifth year on the varsity swim team, and now her third consecutive year  going to state.

Whyte set her goals very high, knowing that she would be able to accomplish them. “I accomplished my goal, which was making it to state as an individual. In addition to that, I was All-Conference and was second in the section in the 200 free.”  Whyte also finished 5th in the 500 free.

“I’ve made it this far over the past two years, but this year will be different since I will be going as an individual. Every year has been a blast and memorable, and I can’t wait for this year.”

Though Whyte was the only teammate to make it to state this year, she wasn’t the only one to have a successful season. “The team this year was very young. Nearly half our team is in 7th or 8th grade. We lost a lot of seniors, but the younger swimmers stepped up and we were successful. At the end of the year, we took 5th at the Big 9 conference meet.”

Another Cotter student that did well this year was junior, Alex Arnold. Missing going to state by less than half a second, Arnold would agree that she also had a successful season.

“Its hard knowing I won’t be participating in the state meet this year, but I worked very hard this season and am proud of my final times,” Arnold stated. Arnold, who also started swimming at age eight, has also been to state two previous years since her 8th grade year.

These two junior swimmers seem certain to close out their high school careers with more success.

At the Thursday, November 13, assembly, coach Steve Burt talked about Morgan’s accomplishments and hard work and the school wished her well.  Morgan’s parents Brett and Linda, pictured below, were on hand for the send-off.