As the boys took their spot on the diving blocks, everyone could see the determination on their faces. With teammates standing behind them cheering them on, they were able to perform and succeed in a 98-72 win, defeating Bergen Catholic.
The boys started off the meet with a close race but ultimately falling just flat of first place in the 200 Medley Relay. Despite not finishing first, the boys didn’t let that affect them for the rest of the meet, finishing first in the next seven races.
The Blue Devils have only lost once this season to Scotch Plains-Fanwood and they have not faltered since, now sitting at 6-1, second in the Union County Conference, keeping their focus on a potential fourth straight state championship.
The atmosphere inside the YMCA was filled with high energy and supportive cheering, from both the boys and girls team. When swimming in the longer sections, having unwavering support from both teams is a necessity. Head coach Jeff Knight said, “The fact that both teams support each other so much is fantastic. It’s been a staple forever, and it’s great to see it continuing on. It helps bring out the best in everybody, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The energy outside of the pool from teammates, coaches and family encourage the swimmers to focus and perform. Senior captain Logan Welsh agreed with coach Knight, saying, “Everyone as an individual knows we are swimming for each other as a team, and who we’re cheering for as a team. That really helps as motivation to try and win your race for the team.”
In preparation for this meet, the Blue Devils focused on their fundamentals in order to boost their speed. Welsh said, “We focused a lot on our turns the past few weeks in practice, and I think we did a good job implementing that today.”
The Blue Devils will swim again Thursday against Christian Brothers at home at 3:30 pm. Senior captain Dylan Lagrimas said, “We have a big meet on Thursday against another private school [Christian Brothers Academy]. We normally have these two meets, two private schools who are big rivals. Our last few meets have been kind of slow with not a lot of energy, and I think today we really brought a lot of fight, and we want to bring that same energy into Thursday.”
