Co-Captain Tim Wynter ’14 stroked ferociously, racing to the wall with every last ounce of his energy. As he punched the touchpad, the clock read 3:13.32, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Wynter, along with Co-Captain Joe Faller ’14, Michael Camarda ’14 and Scott Simpson ’14, set a new Hopkins pool record in the 400-Yard Freestyle Relay.
This record was Andover’s second on Saturday and seventh in total for the season, aiding towards Andover’s 96-78 victory over Hopkins.
Andover dominated from the start of the meet and led Hopkins 96-29 after eight of 12 events. For the final four races, Andover competed in non-scoring exhibition races to end the meet 96-78 and keep its undefeated streak alive in the NEPSSA.
The meet began with the same team of Wynter, Faller, Camarda and Simpson competing in the 200-Yard Medley Relay. The group shattered the Hopkins pool record by more than three seconds with a time of 1:35.93, the ninth-fastest time in New England history.
Newcomer Christian Alberga ’17 set his season-best time in the 100-Yard Breaststroke and was second to Andrew Yang ’14, who went 1:04.25. Yang also placed second in the 50-Yard Free.
In the diving competition, Graham Johns ’14, Jack Belluche ’16 and Kade Call ’14 claimed first, second and third place respectively.
“It was really exciting to come in first place. I nailed a couple of my dives, which pushed my scores up. I got straight 7.5’s on my back dive straight with a half twist, which has a degree of difficulty of 1.8. I also did well on my inward one somersault tuck, which has a degree difficulty of 1.7,” said Johns.
Johns finished the meet with a score of 177.15, followed by Belluche with 173.31 and Call with 164.45.
“Overall, Jack, Kade and I performed very well, and we’re going to be working hard in practice this week in preparation for Eastern’s in two weeks,” said Johns.
The team used the meet as competitive practice to prepare for its championship season.
“[Saturday’s meet] was an opportunity for us to rehearse our races for Eastern’s and New England’s. Our goal was to race as if we were at Eastern’s, and we did just that. We swam hard, broke two relay records and set many personal best times,” said Marcello Rossi ’16.
Chris Li ’15 added, “This was the last meet before our team starts to rest up for championships, so it served as a great baseline for us to improve upon. As we rest, our bodies are going to be more agile and ready for New England’s and Eastern’s.”
Andover will compete against archrival Exeter on February 15 in its final dual meet of the season.
“Exeter better be prepared, because all of us are in great shape at the moment, and the newly set records might be broken yet again,” said Rossi.
The following week, the team will travel to Philadelphia for the 114th Annual Eastern Swimming and Diving Championships, which historically boasts the fastest times of any high-school meet in the nation.
