The men’s swim team suffered a 131-36 loss at the hands of Washington College (Md.) Saturday, Jan. 17, which puts their record at 2-5 overall and 1-2 in the Landmark Conference.
Sophomore Kieran Koehler was the sole winner for the boy’s team as he captured the 100 breaststroke with 1:07.58. He had to fend off Washington’s Finny Dorsch, who came in less than a second behind him with a time of 1:08.41. Koehler narrowly missed the top three in the 50 freestyle in which he clocked in at 24.13
“My performance wasn’t the best it could have been, but it was enough to get the win for the team,” Koehler said. “I really need to work on my endurance in most races that I swim. I think that is my biggest weakness.”
Koehler is hoping to break the minute mark on his breaststroke before the end of the season, which has been one of his personal goals.
The Blue Jays came within a second of winning the 100 freestyle as first-year David Foery took second place with a 50.99. Washington’s Charles Logan finished in first place with a time of 50.44. Foery also came in fourth place in the 200 freestyle when he clocked in a time of 1:55.54.
Elizabethtown College senior Frank Capria swam in three events: the 1650 freestyle, 500 freestyle and the 100 butterfly. Capria came in second in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 18:48.37, third in the 100 butterfly with 1:00.01 and fourth in the 500 freestyle with a 5:35.79.
“The best part of the day for me was swimming the fly at 1:00.01,” Capria said. “Despite being two seconds off my best time, I was able to muscle it out coming out of the mile.”
Sophomore Ethan Weber, who swam exhibition in the 50 freestyle, secured his best time of the season with a 27.58. He also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle with 1:02.80, and second in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:21.21.
The Blue Jays have a relatively young team this year with only two juniors and one senior out of their 12 man roster.
“Having a young team builds a solid foundation for the team to grow in years to come,” Capria said.
Due to all the young members on the team, they have been able to form different relays that might be used in upcoming seasons and are given the opportunity to explore the talents of younger swimmers.
The Blue Jays host McDaniel College Saturday, Jan. 24 which is their final home meet of the season. The team has one more meet against Frostburg State University before they proceed into the Landmark Conference Championships next month.
In order to prepare for their upcoming meets and the championships they have been increasing their yardage at practice which they hope will help them with their speed and endurance.
“The team has been working hard in the pool and we are continuing to improve our technique as we approach Landmarks,” Koehler said. “The meet next Saturday will be another day for us to practice our races and perfect our strokes.”
This year the team switched from the Middle Atlantic Conference to the Landmark Conference which operates differently during championships. In the Landmark Conference, every team is eligible to go but only 18 members from each team are able to score, where as in the Middle Atlantic Conference, swimmers had to qualify individually.
“We are looking forward to Landmarks so we can display all of our hard work throughout the season and I’m excited to go and see how everyone performs,” Koehler said.
