Two members of the Grosse Pointe Gators Swim Club were honored on Sunday for climbing to the top of the competitive swimming world in the State of Michigan. John Fodell was named the Michigan Swimming 2016 Coach Of The Year. Jacob Montague was named the Michigan Swimming 2016 Swimmer Of The Year.
This is the first year that Michigan Swimming has given out these awards. Nominations were gathered from around the state. The nominees were voted on by the Michigan Swimming Board of Directors along with the Athlete’s Committee. Fodell and Montague received their awards at the annual Michigan Swimming House of Delegates meeting in Lansing. Michigan Swimming is the local governing body, responsible for organizing, supporting and governing USA Swimming‘s clubs in the State of Michigan. USA Swimming is the governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. They are best known for putting on the Olympic Trials every four years that produce swimmers going to the Olympics as part of Team USA.
John Fodell is the Head Coach for the Grosse Pointe Gators. He has been in that position for 10 years. His swimmers have competed in swim events around the United States and the World. Those events include the Junior Pan Pacific Championships, the Irish Open, U.S. Olympic Trials, the Phillips 66 National Championships, Speedo Junior Championships, NCSA Junior National Championships, and the Speedo Sectional Championships. Dozens of his swimmers have moved on from the Gators to enjoy successful swimming careers at NCAA Division 1, 2, and 3 colleges and universities.
Jacob Montague is a recent graduate from Grosse Pointe South High School. He has been a Gators’ swimmer for 4 years. 2016 was a tremendous season in the pool for Montague. He was the 100 Breast Champion at the Junior Pan Pacific Championships in Hawaii. He made it to the semi-finals in the 200 Breast (11th place overall) at this summer’s Olympic Trials in Omaha. He won the 200 IM at the Speedo Junior National Championships in Atlanta. Montague also was the 2016 D2 Michigan High School Champion in the 100 Breast and 200 IM. This was the second year in a row that he won those events. Jacob has just started school at the University of Michigan where he will be an integral part of the Wolverine swim team for the next four years.
The Grosse Pointe Gators are a USA Swimming member swim club based out of Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
The Grosse Pointe Gators contributed this report.