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SportsHiggins(continued from page 26)It’s not often that one response cansummarize what sets a person apart. Butin Higgins’ case, the lack of excitementpretty well describes what has made thesenior one of the area’s best swimmers:If he’s not improving, he’s not succeeding.“He’s been a very determined swimmer,”said his mother, Sally. “He’d sethis goal, and you could see it in theraces: He was going to (achieve thegoals he set).”With two siblings swimming in college,some might assume that the Higginschildren were born with chlorinein their veins, but Collin said he wasn’tunlike any other kid. He played baseballin the spring and swam in a neighborhoodleague during the summers.But when he was 7 years old, hedecided to follow his older brother,Charlie, and sister, Caroline, to Swim-MAC, for more competition. But after acouple years, the intensity continued tobuild. And at one point, Higgins wasn’tsure if he wanted to continue to swimor if he wanted to give the dry-landactivities another try. At the age of 10,Higgins already was practicing 11 or 12times a week, and it was beginning tofeel like a grind.“I wasn’t into it,” he recalled. “Myheart wasn’t there.”It was the middle of the season andhis mother was fine with his decision totry other things. It’s not as if Sally andher husband, John, had grown up asswimmers, so the pressure to stay in thepool wasn’t there.But the pressure not to quit surewas.“I said, ‘You know what Collin? We’vepaid for the whole year, so you needto finish the whole year out,’” Sallyrecalled. “‘We’re not going to let you justquit. Then, if you don’t want to go backin the fall, that’s fine. You don’t have togo.’”It’s a good thing his mother didn’tcave in to his request. That same summer,Higgins set a club record in hisage group, which was just the boost heneeded.“That’s all it took,” Sally said. “Afterthat, he was ready to go.”His career took off.“Each year, I got progressively a littlebetter, so that motivation got me going,”noted Higgins. “There have been somedown moments where getting up at 4:30a.m. is pretty rough, but I think seeingwhere I came from to where I am now,that’s really gotten me where I am.”But for all he’s accomplished in hiscareer, this season will be a bit differentfor Higgins; for the first time in his life,he won’t have any siblings in the poolwith him. Brother Charlie is a junior atVirginia Tech and sister Caroline alsojoined the Hokies this year.Charlie was always the tough-lovetype, Higgins said. Charlie was the typeof swimmer who’d remind his siblingsabout practice and pushed everyoneelse, to the point that Collin said hisbrother assumed a quasi-coaching rolefor the Hawks. Caroline was the opposite,more of a go-with-the-flow type.“It was good having them around toknow I wasn’t the only one in the householdthat had to get up that early,” Collinsaid with a chuckle.But as for missing their presence atmeets, it’s a temporarysituation. Higginsrecently signedto swim at VirginiaTech with Charlieand Caroline.Higgins hadother opportunities,but he chosethe Hokies overNorth Carolina,Florida State, LSUand Louisville.Location and academiccurriculumplayed a big part inHiggins’ decision,especially sincehe hopes to studyengineering at VirginiaTech.“I want to beclose to where Ican go home on the weekend but farenough to where my parents can’t pullany surprises,” he said, laughing.But before then, Higgins said he andhis Charlotte Latin teammates have apoint to prove. Last season, despite Higgins’record-breaking times, the Hawksfinished third in the state behind CharlotteCountry Day and Raleigh Ravenscroft.Despite the success, Higgins isn’tcocky. In fact, he errs on the side of caution,even when it isn’t required. Almostapologetically, Higgins pointed to thefact that the Hawks had beaten CharlotteCountry Day in both a dual-teammeet and the conference meet headinginto last year’s state championships. So,yes, the Hawks were expecting to win.“We were really confident going intoCharlotte Latin’s Collin Higginsstates,” he said. “We knew it would beclose, but now I know you have to beready for anything. You don’t know forsure what’s going to happen.”As if he needed any more motivation,Higgins said he also wants to prove toVirginia Tech – and big brother Charlie– that the Hokies made the right choiceby offering him a scholarship.“Some seniors tend to slide, but Iwant to prove to (Virginia Tech) that I’mworth what they’ve offered me,” he said.“I’m trying to catch (Charlie) and hopefullyI’ll be there beating him one day.”He pauses.“I don’t want to be one of those peoplethat slips – I want to try to bettermyself,” he added.And anything else simply won’t do, nomatter how many records he breaks. qAaron Garcia/SCW photoSports Shorts(continued from page 27)Best in Class award, given by the PGATour at its Tournament Advisory Councilmeetings. The award was based onthe south Charlotte tournament’s overallpresentation, as well as innovationssuch as the EZ Pay payment plan thatwas enacted this year to combat thelagging economy.“To win ‘Best in Class’ once is anhonor, but to win it two consecutiveyears is a tremendous tribute to the hardwork and dedication from the manypeople that had a hand in the success ofthe Wells Fargo Championship,” KymHougham, the tournament’s executivedirector said in a prepared statement.“We’ve had a philosophy of improvingthe tournament experience for ourpatrons each year, and we look to makefurther improvements going forwardwith the support of Wells Fargo.”In 2011, the tournament will be heldMay 5-8 at Quail Hollow Club.Charlotte Christian middle-schoolbasketball teams sweep tourneyOn Dec. 4, the Charlotte Christianmiddle-school boys and girls teamseach won the Golden Corral ChristmasClassic, hosted by Covenant DaySchool.The Charlotte Christian girls went3-0 in the tournament with wins overCharlotte Prep, 27-8; Carmel Christian,39-15; and Covenant Day, 36-14.The boys also went undefeated, collectingwins over Providence Day’sseventh-grade team, 33-9; CharlotteCountry Day, 48-32; and ProvidenceDay’s eighth-grade team, 52-29.It was the second Golden CoralChristmas Classic title in three yearsfor the Knights girls team and the firstfor the boys.Country Day hoopsters give backOn Dec. 9, the Charlotte CountryDay varsity and JV boys basketball teamshosted the second-annual BasketballChristmas Party, which benefited theHarvest Center of Charlotte.Photos courtesy of Candace GowanThe Charlotte Christian Middle School boys basketballteamThe Charlotte Christian Middle School girls basketballteamOrganized by senior player Mac Cramer,the event allowed young men andteenagers from the Harvest Centerto play basketball with the Bucs. Theteam donated athletic socks and shoesfor the event, along with water, Gatoradeand dessert.The Harvest Center of Charlotte isa nonprofit dedicated to serving lowincomefamilies, the homeless and areayouth by providing food, clothing, classopportunities and Bible studies.For more information, visit www.theharvestcenter.orgor call 704-333-4280.Bucs wrestlers fall to EaglesOn Dec. 10, the Charlotte CountryDay wrestling team lost to SouthLakeChristian Academy, 45-27.Five Country Day wrestlers earnedwins, including 152-pounder SamWishnek, who pinned Bobby Troutmanin 1 minute, 36 seconds; 171-pounderWill Davis, who pinned Gant Allen in3:07, 189-pounder Thomas Campbell,who pinned Coleman Palmer in4:37, 215-pounder Carter Touma, whooutscored Jackson Smith, 4-1; and285-pounder Dalton Waite, who pinnedNate Taylor in 38 seconds. qPage 30 • Dec. 17-23, 2010 • South Charlotte Weeklywww.thecharlotteweekly.com