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The Elizabethton High School swim team is in the midst of a busy meet season that precedes their entry into a rigorous training period. With the majority of their meets scheduled in the early weeks of the season, it’s been difficult for the Cyclones to settle into the routine of a training schedule.  The Cyclones swim season began November 1st and they have already competed in three meets. This hasn’t been a factor for Senior Morgan Roszel.  As a dedicated year-round swimmer who has already committed to swim at Milligan University next year, he has already begun the meet season by qualifying for the State Championship meet in four events and, in the process, breaking two school records.  The first was a record that had been on the board since 2012 when Scout Waltz swam the 100 Freestyle in a 51.75. Roszel first broke the record on Monday with a time of 50.85, then broke it again on Saturday in a time of 50.40.  The second was his own 200 Individual Medley record that he set last season.  That record now stands at 2:05.32, another State qualifying time.  Saturday was a hugely successful day for the senior. He also qualified for the State meet in the 100 Backstroke and 100 Butterfly with times of 56.99 and 58.31 consecutively. 

What made this day so incredible for Roszel was that he had to swim six other events as well, for a total of ten events, known as the decathlon.  This was the 13th annual Pentathlon hosted by Dobyns-Bennett.  High School competitors are given the choice of swimming either the pentathlon or the decathlon.  Thirteen competitors chose the latter which meant that those swimmers must complete the 100 and 200 Individual Medleys, the 50 and 100 Freestyles, 50 and 100 Backstroke, 50 and 100 Breaststroke, and 50 and 100 Butterfly.  Each of the swimmers’ combined times are then calculated to determine their placement.  Roszel finished second overall behind Will Mayhew of Dobyns-Bennett with a time of 8:54.14.  He had company with teammates Kody Broussard finishing sixth in 9:50.88 and Liam Cannon placing tenth in 10:45.00.

Roszel has been training consistently and determinedly since undergoing knee surgery last September for a torn Medial Patellofemoral Ligament and fractured knee cap.  “His knee injury was a blessing in disguise as it exposed Morgan to training techniques that he would otherwise not have been privy to,” says EHS coach Kelli Broussard.  “He came back from the surgery in near-record time and has been on fire ever since.”  He competed in last season’s State High School Championship meet, placing 43rd and 34th in the 200 and 500 Freestyles in a meet that sees every high school swimmer regardless of school size or type.  July saw Roszel compete in the Southern Zone Senior Long Course Championships in Tupelo, MS.  His most notable swim was his 200 Backstroke in which he placed third overall behind two University of Kentucky division 1 swimmers.

“We are witnessing the development of the best swimmer that Elizabethton has ever produced.  I am proud to be a part of his journey and excited to see what this season brings,” said Broussard. 

The Cyclones compete at Science Hill on Tuesday and host Morristown on Thursday this week.  Both meets start at 6:00 pm.