MARYSVILLE With five lanes secured in the state swim meet pool, things are going swimmingly for the Tomahawks.
The M-P boys exceeded their goals, posting state times in all three relays when they hosted Everett Dec. 6. The team performance followed two state-caliber swims by junior Trevor LeValley in the Shorewood pool two days earlier.
We just kind of set a goal this week, said M-P swim coach Scott Knowles. We tried to get a relay qualified (for state). Probably the hardest one for us was the 200 freestyle relay, because we dont have a lot of sprinters.
Though no single leg of that race by juniors Aaron Goff, Andy Abadam, LeValley and senior Gabe Lopez broke 23 seconds, it was an extremely consistent performance by the quartet, who finished in 1:33.39, about half a second under the state-qualifying time.
The same four swimmers opened the meet with a state time in the 200 medley relay as well, while Oliver Durand filled in for Abadam in a 400 freestyle relay time of 3:25.95, a second and a half better than the 3:27.50 required for a state appearance.
Including individual performances, I think just about everybody was at or around their best time, Knowles said of his teams performance against Everett.
Some of the biggest milestones in the 124-55 meet victory were personal ones, as swimmers shattered their personal records. Goff broke 24 seconds in the 50 freestyle to qualify for district in that event, while freshman Spencer Girard cut more than two seconds off his 100 breaststroke time to finish in 1:05.31.
Hes really very close to making it to state, Knowles said, of the 1:04.2 benchmark. That was a surprising swim.
Knowles added that he is very pleased by where the team is so early in the season. At Shorewood LeValley had state times in the 200 freestyle and 100 butterfly, while eight other swimmers had times eligible for district competition. Another five were within a couple of seconds of qualifying for the postseason district meet in individual events.
Among the more notable times, Brandon Caldwell swam a 1:11.11, or a Yahtzee, in the 100 breaststroke to qualify for districts.
Just a week into the season, LeValley is in the enviable position of being overqualified for the state meet. Individuals are limited to participation in two individual events and a total of four events. As a leg of all three relays and state-eligible in the 200 freestyle and 100 breaststroke, LeValley will have his choice of events. And the junior has yet to swim the 200 individual medley or 500 freestyle, his two individual events from last season.
The season itself is unfolding pretty well. We achieved some goals early, Knowles said. Its a huge advantage, and its nice to have that advantage.