Holding back his breath, moving nearly every muscle in his body, senior swimmer Mike Hudson thrives to improve his speed and technique each day.

“His work ethic and desire to be good is what sets him apart from everybody else. He knows what he wants to do and he goes out to achieve it,” Men’s Swim and Dive coach Lisa Doherty said.

From the young age of six, Hudson began swimming for the Utica Shelby Swim Team. With his experience, he immediately became a varsity swimmer on the Men’s Swim and Dive team his sophomore year. Currently swimming his last high school season, Hudson leads his team as the only captain. He does his best to manage this hectic and overwhelming job with a little assistance from his parents, who help organize and work the swim meets.

“I give him a lot of credit, he did a job that most people wouldn’t be able to do by themselves,” Junior Varsity swimmer Robert Stefanoski said.

With a 500 freestyle time of 4:47, Hudson continues to beat his best time in his main event. At the Macomb County Boys meet, he won first place in the 200 free and 500 free, broke previous records and earned Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet.

“I was shaken up with nerves going into the meet, but winning the award felt great because I didn’t expect it,” Hudson said.

Hudson was the only person on the Men’s Swim team to reach times low enough to swim at States. He earned 13th place in the 500 freestyle and 12th place in the 100 back. This season and his whole experience in general has brought remarkable achievements. This is a sport that has had a great impact in his life and would like to continue it into his future. Currently debating between Wayne State University and Grand Valley State University, Hudson would like to swim at a division two college.

“The thing that keeps me going is just seeing myself move forward in swimming,” Hudson said. “By trying to achieve those higher times I’ll be able to reach my goal, going to higher championship meets.”