Sports

200-Yard Freestyle Relay Record Aids 151-53 Victory

Out of breath, Co-Captain Joe Faller ’14 looked up at the scoreboard to see the time: 1:27.32. Faller started to smile; he knew what he had accomplished.

His finish in the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay shattered the meet record previously held by Exeter and the school record established by Michael Camarda ’14, David Cao ’14, Faller and Co-Captain Tim Wynter ’14 earlier this season.

Camarda, Christian Alberga ’17 and Scott Simpson ’14 preceded Faller in the race.

The group’s performance affirmed Andover Boys Swimming’s domination over archrival Exeter in its final dual meet of the regular season this past Saturday. Andover won the meet 151-53 to finish its regular season off with a record of 6-1.

“The meet went great and gave us a foundation to build on for Eastern’s. I think that our results are a positive indication of how Eastern’s will go. Records obviously feel good to break: we can always find achievements through measurements,” said Simpson.

Many Andover swimmers achieved season and personal best times during the meet. These accomplishments highlight the hard work and effort that the swimmers have devoted to improving their speed this season.

“The win was exhilarating, and everyone was really encouraging of one another throughout the meet. Watching our guys swim really pumps me up because they do so well. They motivate me to swim my hardest to hopefully break records myself,” said Jonathan Xue ’17.

“The meet went really well. Everyone swam good times, and it was a big confidence booster as we prepare for Eastern’s next week,” added Alberga.

Alberga had a great day in the pool. In addition to being a part of the 200-Yard Freestyle Relay, the rookie gained his first career victory by swimming a 22.73 in the 50-Yard Freestyle.

“It felt good to be the first freshman to break a record and get on the board. Hopefully there will be many more records to come. I was really excited to come in first after always being behind members of the Senior class earlier this season,” said Alberga.

In the diving competition, Jack Belluche ’16 claimed first place once again with an impressive score of 248.05. Belluche excelled in the meet, nailing his front 2.5, inward 1.5, back 1.5 and reverse-flip.

“I’m really proud of myself because it was the best performance of my diving career. Winning the meet gives me the confidence that I can really do well against all of the other divers at Eastern’s,” said Belluche.

Kade Call ’14 came in third with 188.70 points, Graham Johns ’14 claimed fourth with 173.15 and Thomas Bakken ’14 finished in seventh place with 145.75.

“The entire team was really excited and pumped up about the win. We are ready to compete at Eastern’s against our toughest competition yet,” said Belluche.

Andover will send 14 swimmers and three divers to Philadelphia to participate in the 114th Eastern Swimming and Diving Championships this weekend. It will go up against national powerhouses such as Peddie, Mercersburg, Germantown, Georgetown Prep, Loyola Blakefield and Malvern Prep. After a fourth place finish last year, Andover will look to find the perfect ending to a record-breaking season.