Sumner’s Wilson sisters lean on family support for success at state swim meet

MichaelAnn Wilson has had some real discoveries over this past fall season while she helped the Sumner High girls swim team reach the Class 4A state meet over the weekend.

The lesson for her is probably the easiest one for someone in her unique position: It’s great to be surrounded by family.

Entering her final swim season, MichaelAnn, 17, was able to swim with her youngest sister Marin, 14, a freshman, at state, while being cheered on by middle sister McKenna, 16, who is a junior on the cross country team.

“They still have a few more years left, but it is nice to be able have both of their support for this year,” MichaelAnn, a senior, said.

MichaelAnn and Marin are the swimmers and McKenna is the runner in the family, and life can be pretty hectic at times.

MichaelAnn helped Sumner’s 200-yard freestyle relay take eighth place with a time of 1 minute, 43.11 seconds, and also finished 12th in the 200 medley relay along with Marin at the Class 4A state swimming and diving championships at King County Aquatic Center.

As the two sister helped the girls swim team reach the podium, McKenna was away, off running another event after a long cross country season wasn’t satisfying enough.

But being away didn’t mean she couldn’t stay close to what was happening in Federal Way.

“(McKenna) was on FaceTime watching me race during the finals of my backstroke,” said MichaelAnn, who finished fifth with a time of 59.97. “I didn’t get to talk to her after the race because she had to go, but I’m happy she was able to see me race.”

That was the important aspect, MichaelAnn added, that keeps the Wilson sisters close.

As time begins to wind down for MichaelAnn, there is still plenty left for both her sisters with their respective athletic careers.

“It’s been great having (MichaelAnn) here in my first year,” Marin admitted. “Just being able to have someone who’s done it before giving me advice really helped make my first year easier.”

And having that smooth transition allowed Marin to settle into Sumner’s swim routines to become an essential piece to the Spartans’ youth movement in the pool.

“She’s not just a big sister to me,” Marin said.

But Marin isn’t the only sister on the team — in a sense.

“They’re really like my sisters,” said MichaelAnn about the Sumner girls swim team. “We’re like family and this year was really special to me.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Sumner’s Wilson sisters lean on family support for success at state swim meet."