Cape Central hoop star embraces, survives the challenge of new sport

Cape Central senior swimmers (from left) Lauren LaMar, Ella Vogel, and Anne-Marie Ritter pose following the SEMO Conference Swimming and Diving Meet on Tuesday at the Central Municipal Pool in Cape Girardeau.

Tom Davis ~ Tdavis@semoball.com

You must give Cape Central senior Ella Vogel credit for this much, she isn’t afraid to be challenged. And after making the decision to join the Tigers’ swim team this season, she obviously doesn’t care about being humbled either

After being a star on the basketball court each of the past three winters, Vogel made the difficult decision to try a different sport for her final year of high school. Perhaps, the most difficult sport – physically and mentally – that an athlete can sign up for.

“I honestly thought that it was going to be easier than what it was,” Vogel said following the recent SEMO Conference Meet at the Central Municipal Pool in Cape Girardeau. “I was quickly reminded that it was not easy. But it was fun. I loved all of (my teammates), so it was fun.”

Vogel will play volleyball in the fall at Missouri Valley Conference member, Murray State. She certainly could have played college basketball at some level after what the 6-foot-1 athlete had accomplished in that sport.

She scored over 1,000 points as a Tiger and was a SEMO Conference First Team selection as a junior. However, with a collegiate volleyball career looming, she wanted a physical break, which she got, in some ways, but not all.

“(Swimming) was definitely less harmful to my body and on my joints,” Vogel explained. “I wanted to stay in shape and do something.”

She “stayed in shape” alright.

Vogel had only taken swim lessons as a youngster; she had never trained as a competitive swimmer. So, her first day at practice was her first experience in learning how to perform the four competitive strokes.

Try doing a butterfly set, for the first time in your life, while competing on one of the best high school teams in Missouri.

“It was really hard,” Vogel said. “I learned so much from my coaches. This year was definitely a growing year.”

Cape Central pulls divers from district meet due to safety concerns

J.C. Reeves ~ Southeast Missourian

Cape Central sophomore divers Tommy-Anne Marriott and Lydia Cao, along with their coaches, decided to pull the pair from Friday's Class 1 district diving meet at the John H. Foster Natatorium in Springfield, Mo., citing a potentially dangerous diving board...

Vogel contemplated throwing in the towel (and her swimsuit) a couple of weeks into the season but persevered.

She competed in the 100 backstroke event in the recent conference meet and placed 11th overall. That may not sound impressive, but Vogel beat eight other swimmers, and Hell, she didn’t even KNOW how to swim the backstroke four months ago.

“We had to practice all of the strokes,” Vogel said. “I had to learn how to do all of them.”

Veteran Cape Central swim coach Dayna Powell placed Vogel in several different events to try and figure out where (and how) she could help the Tigers.

Vogel swam on relays, in the 100 breast and the 100 back events. She even competed in the 500 free, which is the most physically (and mentally) taxing event there is at the high school level.

“That was really hard,” Vogel said. “I had to mentally prepare for that one.”

Vogel did not qualify for next week’s MSHSAA Class 1 State Finals, so her swimming career has now come to an end.

“That isn’t a bad thing,” she laughed. “But it was a lot of fun. I’m glad that I did it.”

She is going to spend the next five months training and competing in volleyball tournaments, in preparation for enrolling at Murray State in July.

“I’m so excited,” Vogel said about her future. “I’m so ready to just get better.”

Sounds like a kid who embraces challenges, not shies from one, doesn’t it?