Azaan McCray has hassle believing what he achieved during the wintry weather excessive school boys swimming and diving season. After all, the Case freshman and previous gymnast came definitely out of nowhere to earn a fifth-region medal in diving on the WIAA State Division 1 Championships final month. But all he has to do is look at his medal to be reminded of what he has accomplished. McCray, who started diving just over the years ago after breaking both of his wrists for the duration of gymnastics competition, got here into the lads swimming and diving season and made a right away impact via scoring 445.90 points to complete 2nd on the Cedarburg Invitational. It changed into his first 11-dive meet of the season and his excessive rating for the season as nicely.

He remained constant through the yr’s relaxation, culminating along with his kingdom medal, which cemented his selection as the All-Racine County Boys Swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year. McCray is the first freshman boy to be a swimming and Diving Athlete of the Year. Three newcomers, all swimmers, have won the award for ladies swimming/diving. “I look lower back at state and I’m not certain it’s sunk in but,” McCray said. “I’m nevertheless processing the whole thing — it becomes surprising. “It’s humbling and overwhelming — I in no way anticipated it. Whether or now not he predicted it, he did win a country medal, and he credited Case diving teach Jackie Turner for all of his successes.

It’s all due to Jackie,” McCray stated. “She’s high-quality — she turned into with me six days a week (at practice), and he or she believed in me and pushed me to a brand new stage. Jackie advised me that to agree within myself and that I’m higher than I think I am. Turner said a number of it was McCray’s mindset towards her education. Azaan is one of the hardest working athletes I have coached over time,” Turner stated. “He has such willpower and cognizance to keep to do higher and higher. After the Cedarburg Invitational performance, he couldn’t pretty get lower back to that score. However, he still did well. He won the diving name on the Racine Invitational and completed second at the Southeast Conference Meet and the Division 1 Park Sectional, both times to senior Jared Kleczka of Franklin.

At Kingdom, he led Kleczka after the primary spherical and, in the end, finished one spot at the back of him within the final standings. McCray becomes constant, sitting in 5th place after each phase of the opposition — preliminaries (first five dives), semifinals (dives 6-8), and finals (dives Sept. 11). McCray is already preparing for next yr, lifting weights and diving at Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer under the watchful eye of Todd Hill, the diving train at Schroeder and at UW-Milwaukee, and former Park diver and Horlick diving educate Dallas O’Haver.

McCray’s expectancies of the route are set high. Turner, Hill, and O’Haver have organized him nicely as he continues his excessive school profession. However, during the excessive faculty season, Turner’s paintings with McCray turned into the principal component in McCray’s upward thrust to turn out to be a state medalist. I definitely plan on retaining up (with exercise) and preserve progress to do my pleasant at a nation,” McCray said. “I’d like to medal (again), and I’m trying for pinnacle 3 — that would be honestly high-quality.