Champions. Intrepid Athletes. Going Forward.

Today we recognize two Champions who are moving forward in their lives with a trail of good humor, faithful practice, clear minds, and the heart to step into the light and compete at the highest level. We congratulate Lily Witte first. Lily is one of three intrepid sisters who love swimming and diving. Her oldest sister, Kaylee Witte, now a student at Michigan , graded the road, so to speak, swimming for three years and diving for four years for the Dexter Michigan High School team. Younger sister Lauren Witt is growing her skills too, following her sister's paths in sports. 

In 2016 Lily took top step on the podium in the Region 5 Championships and the Zone C meet on 1m, 3m, and 3m platform. In the 2016 Diving ATT National Diving Championships Lilly was National Champion in 3m. 

So far in 2017, Lily has taken the top marks for her dives in the Region 5 Championships and is headed to the Zone meet.

On top of that, Lily has been chosen to represent USA on the 2017 Junior National Squad. I am sure that the Olympics are on her mind as she looks forward to a world of hard work and opportunity. 

We salute Lily for her skills and effor, and her family for their support to make it all possible.

http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Diving/News/2017/May/03/USA-Diving-announces-2017-Junior-National-Squad

Next, we salute Logan Melander, intrepid gymnist from WA, cousin to the Intrepid Witte girls, National Champion in the All-Around 2013, who has graduated from Ohio State.

Logan trained and performed to the highest levels on a team that earned back to back Big 10 Team Championships, 2016-2017, were NCAA team bronze medalists in 2016, and took silver in 2017. The Buckeye team has distinquished itself and we appreciate that the program is meeting it's goal of turning out excellent gymnists and better human beings. Logan is certainly one of the better human beings, and we congratulate him on finishing the Ohio State path. Go Bucks!

2017 has been a great year so far and there is more to come. We have provided Zippys to a twelve person Ragnar team running in June.  We are looking forward to getting photos and stories from that 24 hour race.

We are grateful to the Div I Strength and Conditioning coach who provided us a photo of Zippys and other balls and rollers on his craft table inthe gym as well as his description of how Zippy fits in his program for wellness and recovery.

We move forward to new adventures in our lives. Today, we salute Lily and Logan, two athletes, champions in their own right, who recently learned of their family connection, who share the spirit of good sportsmanship, training and study ethic, close family ties, sense of humor, and competitive natures. Regards.

For disclosure purposes, i should say something about how I know these cousins. I too am a cousin. The mother of the Intrepid Witte sisters is my First cousin, and she is intrepid too. Logan's mom is a fifteenth cousin (thereabouts). We are proud of our cousins and all the athletes in the world who train and compete at every level.

#ilovemyzippy

Stevie and Jim