By Nathan Pace
InkFreeNews

SYRACUSE — A journey that took over nine hours in the water culminated in a first for Lake Wawasee Wednesday, Sept. 17. Syracuse resident Jace Morgan completed his mission to swim the circumference of the lake.

“The lake threw everything at me, cramps, shivers, doubt but we made it,” Morgan posted on social media. “To everyone who came out to their docks, cheered from their boats, sent messages, honked, waved or just thought about me today, you carried me.”

Morgan entered the lake to start his swim at 8:07 a.m. from the Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation. Morgan was accompanied by his wife Rikki on an escort boat. She and members of a the documentary crew took turns on a kayak to stay close to Morgan and throw him supplies.

The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department had a boat nearby to protect Morgan during his swim from any boat traffic.

While the weather was ideal for the swim, Morgan admits they got the distance wrong for what the lap around the lake would be. Morgan thought they had measured 14 miles when scouting the route previously but during the swim they realized the route was actually 17 miles. Morgan was able to swim at an average speed of 1.83 miles per hour. The swim was completed in 9 hours and 20 minutes.

Rikki kept fans and followers of the swim up to date with live videos from the lake. Morgan had been practicing in the lake and in pools to prepare for the long distance. The practice helped him identify the gear and preparation he needed.

“I got some time to recover a little bit and hanging with family and getting to relax. The weather has cooperated,” Morgan said prior to starting his swim. “We’ve been able to generate a lot of momentum and the community really got behind me. It’s been really exciting to see all the people get excited.”

A group of supporters helped send Morgan off in the morning and welcomed him back to shore at the W.A.C.F. at 5:30 p.m. Morgan was also cheered during the swim by those on the shore and docks as he went by.

“We didn’t just swim around the lake today, we made history on it,” Morgan said. “Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. I’ll never forget this day, or the way this community showed up.”