BOYS SWIMMING: Rochester’s Carl earns fourth straight All-State award
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BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
ROCHESTER HILLS — When Jacob Carl was a small kid, he tried an assortment of sports.
Soccer, T-ball, basketball and swimming were the main four sports that Carl attempted as a small lad.
When he was eight years old, he broke a finger playing basketball just two weeks into the season. That injury may have seemed crushing for the elementary school student, but it turned out to be a blessing in the long run.
It was at that time that Carl really decided to dive into swimming and he has emerged as a pool shark ever since.
“I guess that was a lucky break,” laughed Carl, now a senior at Rochester High. “I wasn’t very good at basketball or soccer and I only played T-ball for a short while. I never really got into baseball.”
Getting into the pool proved to be a natural fit for Carl. By the time he was 12, Carl was starting to emerge as a quality swimmer in his age group, competing for various club and summer-league teams, including Heart of the Hills, North Oakland Waves and the Birmingham Blue Dolphins.
TICKET TO GLIDE: Rochester’s Jacob Carl earned his fourth All-State award Saturday in the 500-yard freestyle, finishing second at the Division 1 state meet. courtesy Photo | Al Evans, Exact Photography
Carl recently finished up his senior season at Rochester with quite an impressive resume. He finished as a four-time All-State athlete in the 500-yard freestyle, believed to be the second four-time All-State male swimmer in school history.
As a freshman, Carl placed sixth in the 500 free. The following year he was seventh, then third as a junior. At the Holland Aquatics Center, site of this year’s Division 1 state finals, he glided into a second-place finish in 4:35.69. He finished behind Livonia Stevenson’s Nick Arakelian, a former home-schooled athlete who did not swim high school until this year. Arakelian clocked 4:27.75 to win the state title.
Carl owns the school record for the 100 free (47.42) and ranks in the top five all-time at the school in over half of the events. His 500 free time this season is second-best to former Division I college swimmer Nick Evans, who was the state champion in 2008.
This season, Carl also placed fifth in the 200 freestyle at state (1:42.44) and swam at the state meet in the 400 medley relay, which finished 24th. The top 16 in each event medal at the state meet, while the top eight are All-State.
Additionally, Carl was third in the 500 free and 13th in the 50 free at the MISCA meet in February. He placed in the top eight at both the OAA White Division league meet and Oakland County meet all four years of high school, collecting dozens of medals and individual championships in his prep career.
“I still can’t believe that I was All-State four times,” said Carl. “I never even dreamed of making the state meet as a freshman, let alone finishing in the top eight and earning All-State.
“I also achieved my goal of being All-State in two events this season,” continued Carl. “I also had a great swimming the 200 free. I was never able to finish (in the top eight) in two events at the state meet before.”
Swimming is far from over for Carl. He has received offers from Oakland University, Eastern Michigan and Michigan State and has been accepted to all three schools with over a 3.5 GPA.
He is also prepping for the YMCA Nationals, which will take place in Greensboro, N.C., next month.
“I won’t make my college choice until after that meet,” said Carl. “I have to wait and see how I do there and who gives me the best final offer. I hope to get some scholarship money. If not, I will walk-on at one of those three schools.”
Carl has quite a decision to make next month of where he’ll continue his swimming career. He already made a life-changing decision at the age of 8, choosing the pool over a court, ball diamond or field.
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Have photos or video of this event that you wish to share? E-mail pertinent information to www.northoaklandsports.com Senior Editor Dan Stickradt at dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com or e-mail results@northoaklandsports.com.
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