Sports

Boys Tri-Umphant Over Loomis

Out of breath, Michael Camarda ’14 looked up at the scoreboard, an almost instinctual reaction for him. His representing Andover Boys Swimming in the last leg of the 200 Medley relay was nothing new; he’d felt the tiled pool wall countless times before. This time was different. The scoreboard flashed 1:47:30, beating the previous record of 1:47:87, set by Andover in 2012. This was only the first of three records the team would break during last Saturday’s meet.

Camarda was preceded in the relay by Co-Captain Tim Wynter ’14, Aaron Teo ’15 and Co-Captain Joe Faller ’14.

The team made a splash at Loomis on Saturday, winning the meet 115-70 and breaking two other New England records in the 200 and 400 Freestyle Relays.

“[Breaking the three records] was an absolutely amazing feeling, and each of the four guys on every relay team gave every ounce of what they had to make it possible,” said Faller.

The two Co-Captains and Camarda were present on all three of the record breaking relay teams while the fourth swimmer changed each time.

Faller continued, “It was amazing to see all the hard work that we put in over the past few weeks paying off. We left the meet with a new sense of confidence and motivation.”

In the 200 Freestyle Relay, Camarda, David Cao ’14, Faller and Wynter swam a striking 1:36.82, breaking the previous record of 1:37.87 set by Deerfield in 2004.

Andover’s success continued to the the final event of the meet, the 400 Freestyle Relay, in which Faller, Travis Bouscaren ’14, Wynter and Camarda finished with a time of 3:33.12, blowing by Loomis’s previous New England record of 3:35.09, which dates back to 1992.

“I was very fortunate to be a part of the 400 freestyle relay and get a New England record. [My teammates] Joe Faller, Tim Wynter and Michael Camarda really stood out in the meet by leading all three relays to victory,” said Bouscaren.

In addition to the three standout relay performances, many swimmers for Andover set personal best times in their individual races.

“I felt so proud to be a part of not only such a strong team, but one that was so close and supportive. We all cheered for our teammates in their individual races, whether they were record breakers or not,” said Marcello Rossi ’16, who won the 200 Freestyle with a time of 2:01.59.

Jonathan Xue ’17 said, “The meet showed me how much I have improved from the beginning of the season, and also how much I need to improve in order to reach my goal times at the end of the season. [Joining the Andover swim team] has been a learning experience for me. The older guys have so much experience and they have given me really valuable advice. They are all great people to look up to.”

Xue placed 3rd in the 100 Breaststroke with a time of 1:12.89.

A notoriously strong team, Loomis fired back against Andover’s overwhelming victories with 43 percent of its team setting personal best times in the meet.

In the diving competition, Jack Belluche ’16 came in second place with a score of 150.45 and Kade Call ’14 came in fourth place with a score of 139.10.

“This meet was easily some of the fastest swimming the entire team has done this early in the season, and it’s foreshadowing something amazing by championships. With what I’ve seen from every member of the team, in practice and in meets, this could be the fastest year that Andover Boys Swimming has had in a long time,” said Faller.

Andover looks to continue its success against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) on Saturday in its only home meet of the season. Following its record-breaking performances in the Loomis meet, Andover is looking forward to the rest of the season with high expectations.