This past weekend, the boys swim and dive team participated in the West Michigan Relays. Although they didn’t come out on top, they still had some stand-out races and finished in ninth place out of fourteen teams.

After a rough start during their first event, the 400-yard free relay team was able to come out strong. Freshman Lucas Witham, junior Reed Dixon, and seniors Ben Rogala and Isaac Stewart put up an impressive time of 3:25.80 ending them in a solid third-place finish. Unfortunately, another three events went by and the team wasn’t able to top eighth place. Although it was rough, the boys came back strong in the 4×100 individual medley relay where Lucas Witham, Reed Dixon, Isaac Stewart, and senior Gavin Cai took another third-place spot ending with a time of 4:03.76.

“I think our biggest challenge was that we had a few people missing so we couldn’t fill all of the relays and because of that we missed out on some points in those events,” Lucas said. “I wish everyone who was sick or coming back from sickness, including myself, was 100% because it seemed like some people were not at their best which was tough for the team.”

In the 200-yard back relay, Lucas Witham, Ben Rogala, sophomores Nolan Breckon, and Logan Tiggleman finished with a time of 1:53.27 and kept a solid fifth-place spot. After a few more events without the team competing, the 200-yard medley relay team had a strong run. Reed Dixon, Gavin Cai, Ben Rogala, and Isaac Stewart were able to claim their final third-place spot of the night with a time of 1:44.16.

“Being a relay meet, it is even more important to make sure our relay exchanges are quick and decisive and I think there is still room for improvement for this,” Isaac said. “Overall, the team had a bunch of solid swims and some improvements from our last relay meet in Battle Creek.”

Although the team didn’t have the finish that they had hoped for, they still continue to swim strong. Their next meet will be on Friday, December 30, at Zeeland West High School.