By Matt Browning

Cooper Cole of Wichita East was chosen as the Shelter Athlete of the Month for April. Cole was one of the top swimmers in the area this season.

“It truly is an honor to even be considered with the number of great swimmers that compete in this area,” Cole said. “Most of us have been competing against each other for years and it has been a great experience to see my teammates improve and reach their goals as well.”

At the 6A Tournament, Cole finished seventh in the 50-yard freestyle, 13th in the 100-yard freestyle and was a part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team that finished fourth. East took seventh as a team, after winning yet another league championship.

“At East High we’ve had a long streak of city league championships and all the seniors didn’t want it to end on our watch,” Cole said. “We all worked really hard to improve throughout the year and managed to come out on top.”

Since starting at age six, Cole always considered himself a decent swimmer, but he became even better when he started swimming at East.

“Coach Hutchinson is an amazing coach and seems to get the best out of his swimmers every year,” Cole said.

Next year, Cole hopes to continue his swimming career and will be taking visits soon at schools that have shown interest.