The boys swim team lost to No. 1 ranked Christian Brothers Academy on Jan. 6 at the Westfield YMCA 155-55.
Despite the overall loss, the 200 medley relay team of junior Max Shin, sophomore Tyler Lessner, Tri-Captain Brennan Haley and freshman Stephen Husch placed first with a time of 1:41.73. “It was a good race for both teams and it was really exciting because of how close it was,” said Husch.
Said Assistant Coach Mike Schwebel: “Overall, the team swam well for this point in the season. We had a very successful and strenuous holiday training schedule that was designed to challenge the team…and I think our boys were still feeling the effects.”
According to senior Tri-Captain Matt Trinkle, highlights of the meet included Husch clocking a time of 22.04 to help his team win the 200 medley relay and Haley winning the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.24. Bond had a personal best with a time of 24.05 in the 50 breaststroke in the 200 medley relay.
Bond said, “The upside of racing hard against a top team like CBA [is that it] will provide us with a great base to taper down from as we approach the county tournament at the end of this month.”
He added that tapering down is when practices decrease in difficulty the week before a big meet in order to allow swimmers to recover and thus perform their best.
“We are practicing hard to prepare for counties and the State tournament, which are our main focuses. I am looking forward to Counties and having the chance to beat SPF this time around,” said Haley.
Trinkle was optimistic about the team’s upcoming meets. “We really just have to keep working hard and take every meet one at a time…. We plan on being rested, so it should be a tight meet, but our depth will help us win.”
The swimmers’ next meet is Jan. 16 at St. Joseph’s Academy at 5:15 p.m.