THE GREATER LANSING AREA SPORTS HALL
OF FAME
INDUCTION CEREMONY
Melissa Kegler
July 25, 2019
By Chuck Krafft
This was one
of three inductions for people who compete in sports other than the standard
sports played by most high schools.
Melissa
Kegler, an Open Water Marathon Swimmer, was a successful swimmer in high
school. She swam for Holt High School and
made the Lansing All-Area Swim Team. She
also earned two varsity letters at Alma College.
As an adult,
she started Open Water Marathon swimming.
Open Marathon Swimming is long distance swimming outdoors that is
generally at least twenty miles. Melissa
Kegler has completed the triple crown of Open Water Swimming. She was the 175th person in the
world and the first from Michigan to complete this trio.
The swims
include 20.1 crossing the channel from Catalina Island to the California shore,
28.5 miles to do the Twenty Bridges, with is a circumnavigation of Manhattan
Island as well as 41.9 miles to cross the English Channel.
Jeff Kegler,
who is on the Hall’s Selection Committee and does a lot of other work to help
keep the hall running, introduced his daughter.
He took a minute to thank Bob Every for all he does for the Hall of
Fame, for Michigan State Club Softball and for the work keeping Ranney Park a
beautiful place for softball.
Melissa
Kegler told us that she started swimming in lakes and swam in high school. She discovered Open Water Swimming and
discovered that she loved the sport. A
half mile Florida swim was her first Open Water Event.
She said
that now that she coaches she appreciates what her coaches have done for
her. She was excited to hear people at
the ceremony talk of their experiences coaching other sports, which will made her a
better Open Water Swimming coach.
She told us
it takes a lot of mental toughness to maintain focus and to continue going
forward. Because of tides, weather and
other situations, it is not possible to plan for everything that might happen
during the swim. Generally they start
swimming at night; there is a constant battle to maintain focus and continue
swimming. She has to deal with jellyfish
and other wild water animals as she swims.
She loves
the sport as she swims with people from all over the world who are into Open Water
Swimming. She was excited at her
induction because it gave her an opportunity to help promote the sport. For her, it was not just a plaque, but a
platform!
For those
who wish to read about the entire induction ceremony, here is a link.
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