Salem swimmer Li hopes to make most out final prep season

Eugene Li took a sabbatical during his junior season of high school swimming and it's safe to say he did miss it.

But in actuality, he remained active in the same pool, opting to train with the Plymouth-Canton Cruisers, his club team, where he holds several age-group records and is coached by Alex Morgan and Joe Le.

"I've been waiting to come back to high school swimming," said Li, who set a new school record last month in the 100-yard freestyle. "High school is something completely different than club swimming. It's a different feeling. You get not only the support of the crowd, you get it from the school, too."

Li admits he not only enjoys the status of prep swimming, but he sees some other benefits as well.

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"It's really fun to be with the team," he said. "It's a different set of people to be familiar with."

During last month's Plymouth Wildcat Relays held at the Salem pool, Li wasted little time setting his second school record with a clocking of 46.08 in the 100 freestyle, besting the mark of 46.69 set by Eric Lynn in 2001.

As a sophomore for Salem, Li broke the 100 breaststroke school record of 59.96, set in 1990, by former Michigan State standout Ron Orris with a time of 59.34.

During that 10th-grade season, Li earned all-state honors with an eighth-place finish in the MHSAA Division 1 state finals in the 50 freestyle, posting a season-best 21.29 during the prelims.

He also placed 10th in the 100 freestyle (47.21 in prelims) and was a member of the Rocks' 200 freestyle relay team that placed 21st (1:28.99).

That came on the heels of a freshman season when he placed 15th in the Division 1 meet in the 100 freestyle (47.37) and was a member of the Salem's state qualifying 200 medley relay that took 23rd (with a seed time of 1:39.67).

And now that he's returned, Salem coach Gloria Martinez-Perez couldn't be happier.

"He really, really wanted to be part of the team," Martinez-Perez said. "He was always around. He was going to the meets even though he wasn't swimming for the team. And he always kind of showed that he wanted to be with the team. So if we let him do it, he was going to be part of the team this year."

Li started competitive swimming at age 9 with the Cruisers in 2009.

"When I was little, I tried a bunch of different sports — baseball, soccer, basketball — and I really couldn't do any of them, so this was kind of the last resort," said Li, who now stands 6-feet-2 and weighs 185 pounds. "And then I just happened to stick with it. I couldn't do contact sports. I was afraid of the ball and afraid of other people."

During summer 2016, Li suffered a life changing experience when he lost part of his left pinky finger.

"It was a weight-lifting session over the summer, just an accident," Li said. "One of the coaches slipped with one of the weights and it happened to land on my finger. It was just an accident. I was in shock; I don't remember (going to the hospital)."

After losing part of his finger, Li then consulted his club coaches, high school coaches and teammates about his future prior to the 2017-18 season.

"We all decided it would be best that I stick with what I was more familiar with, I guess, with club swimming, just to get back in for that season," Li said. "At first, it definitely didn't change my swimming, I would say. It didn't hold me back from swimming. But in terms of life, I guess, I've got a new appreciation for certain things that we might take for granted. Ninety percent of the time, I forget about it. I forget it even happened, so that's the best I can hope for."

Li, meanwhile, just might stand out more in the classroom than in the pool. Taking four Advanced Placement and two dual enrollment courses, his weighted grade-point average hovered near 5.0 last semester.

His favorite subject is history.

"He's smart, you can just tell by the way he talks," Martinez-Perez said.

Li is committed and plans to continue his swimming career at Columbia (N.Y.) University of the Ivy League, where he's leaning toward studying economics. But he remains opened-minded.

"Obviously, the academics are really great," Li said. "I was thinking about maybe finance or something related to that because New York (City) is a great place for internships or an experience like that. Also, I just wanted a big city and especially somewhere where it's cold."

Li's best individual event is the 100 freestyle, but he's also contemplating swimming the 100 breaststroke or 50 freestyle at this year's state meet March 8-9 at the Holland Aquatic Center.

"As a senior, probably win the 100 freestyle," Li said of his No. 1 goal, "but it's going to be really tough, now seeing the competition."

Martinez-Perez believes Li is more than capable of being a serious state title contender.

"My expectations are more into, like, time-wise, more than just placing," she said. "I think if he swims good, he should be in that top eight. So if everything goes like we're planning, he'll be there. And the goal this year is to get him to go as fast with a 44.0 possible going into college. 

"He has a lot of talent. I think he could use it more. I think he could be better than what he is if he could like embrace the talent."

But just having Li around for his senior season has already begun to pay dividends.

"He is special," Martinez-Perez said. "He has this humor, kind of ironic thing, when he talks to people, so it's kind of hard to tell if he's serious or he's joking. Sometimes we don't know. We're trying to figure out that way to tell even with kids. It's fun and enjoyable because he's never taken things personally or taken things in a bad way."

Contact Brad Emons at bemons@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BradEmons1.