Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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JANUARY 24-30, 2018 UCW 29 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Zizhou Lu Adrienne Stevens Sydnie Lubbers Jack Britt • Senior• Cheerleading/tennis In addition to compet- ing in two sports for the Buccaneers, Lubbers maintains a weight grade point average of 4.66. Kevin Wanovich Jack Britt • Junior • Wrestling/soccer/lacrosse Wanovich has a weighted grade point average of 4.21. He's a two-time state quali- fier in wrestling. He's active in the youth group at MacPherson Presbyterian Church. Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop congratulates these amazing scholar athletes of the week and invites them to the Rocket Fizz Store at 1916 Skibo Rd. to receive a FREE gift recognizing their achievement! www.rocketfizz.com Cumberland County swimmers need access to pools by EARL VAUGHAN JR. Even when school's closed, most high school athletes can find a place to practice on their own, either alone or with team- mates, to stay sharp and main- tain conditioning. But in one Cumberland County high school sport, swim- ming, that freedom to practice isn't a given. There are no local indoor public swimming pools open all year, and the one where local swimmers currently prac- tice and compete at Fayetteville State University was shut tight during the Christmas break. That meant standout swim- mers like Zizhou Lu of Gray's Creek and Adrienne Stevens of South View had no place to practice. That's part of the rea- son the best swimmers from the county have had a problem competing evenly with their counterparts from other parts of the state who have better access to public pools. "With more access to pools you'd have more swimmers,'' said Gray's Creek swimming coach Rick Kaiser. "You can do some weight room stuff as far as pushing off walls and a little upper body work, but for the most part, it's a different type of exercise. Pool access is huge for developing the swimmer.'' Despite problems with getting into the pool for enough practice time, both Lu and Stevens have established themselves among the top swim- mers from Cumberland County this season. Lu, a junior, has been swimming for seven years. He got into it mainly for fitness but soon improved and began swimming competitively. "It became like a passion,'' he said. His favorite events are the 50-, 100- and 200-meter freestyle. "It's like it's its own world,'' he said of swimming. "You don't have to worry about other stuff during the time you swim. It's like stress-free.'' Stevens got into swimming about eight years ago when her grand- father took her for lessons; she quickly became hooked. The 100- meter fly and the 200 individual medley are her favorite events. "I've definitely worked on speed and trying to see how I can go faster and longer distances,'' Stevens said. "I'm practicing hard every day, being motivated and having the right mindset.'' John McConnell is in his first season as head coach of the South View team and said Stevens is a bet- ter swimmer than he is a coach. "She swims all the strokes per- fectly and is a very strong swim- mer,'' he said. Lu and Stevens, along with all the other swimmers from Cumberland County, are gearing up for the postseason stretch of competition in swimming. The final Patriot Athletic Conference meet of the season is scheduled Jan. 25 at the FSU pool. Following that, for those that qualify, the 3-A and 4-A regional meets will be held at the Greensboro Aquatic Center Feb. 2-3, and the state champion- ships will be the weekend of Feb. 8-10. The 3-A meet will be Feb. 8, 4-A Feb. 10, both at the Triangle Aquatic Center in Cary. McConnell agrees with Kaiser that for Cumberland County to have a serious shot at winning individual state titles, better access to swimming facilities is a must. "We need to get a dedicated aquatic center,'' he said. "We can't keep borrowing pools here and there.'' MONDAY 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 10 20 30 40 40 30 20 10 50 FRIDAY 6-8pm Basketball coverage Jan 26th to air on WCLN 105.7 FM @ 7PM Westover HS @ Cape Fear HS & WILL BE PRESENTING CUMBERLAND COUNTY BASKETBALL IN 2018 Athlete of the Month: will resume next week.