Boys swim and dive team beats Natick 94-79
The Warriors won against Natick on Tuesday, January 10, with a number of swimmers qualifying for states.
The boys varsity swim and dive team (BVSD) swam against the Natick Redhawks in a dual meet on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at the Evelyn Kirrane Aquatics Center. The Warriors defeated the Redhawks 94-79 and kept their season undefeated with a 3-0 record.
Senior and co-captain Matias Levi said the Warriors got off to a rocky start in the swimming events.
“We had a bit of a rough start but then we started winning races and doing a lot better,” Levi said.
The Warriors were dominant throughout the rest of the meet, with both the swim and dive sections performing extremely well in the first and second heats. Many of the swimmers and divers that competed qualified for the MIAA 2023 Winter Swimming and Diving event.
Inorder to qualify for states a diver must score a five or above from each judge for each participating dive while a swimmer must complete their event under a differing predetermined time.
Senior and co-captain Timothy Lee placed first overall in diving while qualifying many of his dives for states.
“[During] today’s meet I was trying to get some of my easier dives qualified,” Lee said. “So I am incredibly happy that I did that and have cleared my path to states.”
Senior and co-captain Luka Marinkovic placed first in the 200-meter freestyle and said that regardless
of state qualifications, many of the swimmers set new personal records.
“A ton of people had their best times, which is always awesome to see,” Marinkovic said. “It really shows how our team is always improving. ”
Levi placed second in the 500-meter freestyle and said that he is proud of the whole team.
“From an individual standpoint it wasn’t a great meet; it definitely wasn’t my best performance,” Levi said. “But I definitely was happy with how the team did overall and in the end, we won and continued our streak.”
Tonight’s meet saw an incredible amount of team spirit, according to BVSD head coach Robin Ross.
“Team spirit was great tonight; they had spirit the day before the meet and it seems like the team’s a pretty close knit group of guys,” Ross said.
Marinkovic said that all of the team captains led the way in team spirit during tonight’s meet and were very happy with the overall response.
“We had a lot more energy than we usually do, everyone was cheering, everyone was behind the blocks which really helped and added to our win,” Marinkovic said.
Marinkovic said that while there were a variety of mental strategies among swimmers and divers heading into the meet, staying positive was key to their success.
“I really value positive talk and being positive throughout the day. Right before the block, I do a little Lightning McQueen reference and say ‘I am speed’ to myself a few times,” Marinkovic said.
With this being the final season for seniors, today’s meet was bitter-sweet for many, especially for Marinkovic.
“I’m happy that I did well, but as a senior it’s getting closer to my last meet, which is definitely hard to admit to myself,” Marinkovic said. “But I feel awesome, it’s another win in the books and I couldn’t feel happier.”
