Raytown High School’s senior Luke Markley has made a meaningful contribution to the Boys Swim team.  

 

     “Right now I’m ranked sixth in the state in the 50,” Markley said. “My goal is to break a certain amount of time to potentially break the school record and to finish top eight in the state.”

 

      After being All-State three times last year, Luke Markley thinks this year will be even better. 

 

     “Back in January, I started my weight lifting journey and that has been definitely falling over to the swimming aspect,” Markley said. “I am already faster now than I was at the end of the year last year.”

 

     Luke has some advice to operate at such a high level. 

 

     “Make sure you eat right,” Markley said. “Put things in your body that are going to make you feel good. Make sure you get as much sleep as you can. Try to keep a positive mindset even though swimming is draining. And training aspects, make sure you train as hard as you can every day but understanding that rest is important.”

 

     The swim team’s training can be rigorous. 

 

     “We train three hours every day,” Markley said. “Our coach for three days a week likes to get us 9,000 to 10,000 yards a day and two days of sprints so we do 6,000 to 7,000 of high intensity so we use bungee cords, buckets, and paddles.”

 

     Luke Markley wants to continue his swimming career into college. 

 

     “I had a phone call with the University of Missouri Saint Louis coach,” Markley said. “His name is Tony Hernandez and he was saying he would like me to commit, but I told him I have a few more places to visit.”

 

     There are two other schools on Luke’s radar. 

 

     “One is Nebraska Westland University in Lincoln, and the other one is Quincy University,” Markley said.

 

     While being successful in his own events, Luke Markley was a leader on the team. 

 

     “I’ve been a team captain,” Markley said.”This is my third year.”

       

     He takes his captain position seriously. 

 

      “I want the team to feel good about what they do at the end of the season,” Markley said. As a captain, it’s my job to motivate them and watch them grow not only as a swimmer but as a person, and that’s my goal to make them a better swimmer and person.”