Morehead State University - Raconteur Yearbook (Morehead, KY)

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WITH THE FLIGHT of a butterfly, an MSU swimmer emerges victorious. The team ended a successful year with a season of 7-2, LEAPING into the water, an MSU swimmer gets a headstart on his opponent. The team was coached by Michael Ford, former instructor at a Louisville YMCA. 122 A Stroke of Genius it. TEAMMATES Gretchen Veigal and Marrialana Prince are two of the seven women on the team, At the conference, Veigal broke the record for the mile and five-hundred meter free style.

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CROSS COUNTRY provided a lot of competition for the few runners MSU had on their team this year. C oach Hedgecock said the lack of runners was due to MSUs not offering scholarships for cross country run- ners Those who participated did so on a totally volun- teer basis. FIRST years are rough for most team members, espe- cially when it's the coachs first year too. Most of the members on this year's cross country team were com- peting for the first time on a college level. None of the females had competed before, but four members of the male team had some cross country experience! ALL PHOTOS BY HERB HEDGECOCK

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A Stroke of Genius wWe worked hard and explained to the swimmers the importance of the spirit of competition, Michael Ford, coach for the MSU men's and womenis swimming team said, summarizing their successful year with a season of 7-2. The teams consist of nine men and seven women. All of the women are new mem- bers and three of the men are new. We take good athletes without competitive swimming backgrounds and show and teach them the importance of competi- tion, Ford said. The team went to nine swimming meetsi excluding the invitational meets in which they did very well. iiWe have two-a-day practices, some mandatory, some optional. Swimmers come to the pool at 6:30 in the morning, but we don't swim more than 8- 10,000 meters a day, Ford said. Ford is a former coach at the YMCA in Louisville and this has been his first year at MSU. Along with Ford are a few others who help with the team. Assistant Coach Tom Fossitt, who was a previous swimmer at MSU; graduate assistant Jackie Uecker; and Athletic Director Palmer Adkins work with the swimmers. The diving coach is George Eyster. iiWe all work together and pull to- gether and do the best job we canX' Ford said. The team did an exceptional job for the 1986-87 year. At the conference, Gretchen Veigal broke the record for the mile and 500 meter freestyle. Jeff Kliner won the 400 in- dividual medley, a very hard and strenuous event. Jim McNeliey won the one meter spring board diving competition at the con- ference. Keith Callihan is one of our most out- standing divers, but had to withdraw from the conference because he pulled a muscle in his back four days before the tourna- ment, Ford said. iiWe offer some of the best facilities in the state and offer the opportunity to com- pete for the people who want to compete in swimming, or any sport for that matter, Ford said. iiPeople don't realize that there's something out there after high school. There is a place for them to compete after high school here at Morehead, and it gives us a chance to work with them. BY BARRY AMBURGEY ?