Lebanon High School’s swimmers returned from winter break on Tuesday, Jan. 6, to face a tough opponent, Silverton,
The Warriors lost on both sides to the largest team in the league by nearly identical scores, the boys 121-47 and the girls 120-48. Lebanon’s swimmers were outnumbered 2- to 3-to-1 in some events.
The Warrior girls fell to 2-2 while the boys are 3-1.
“Silverton has a ton of depth and the largest squad in the district,” said Coach Joe Andrews. “There were many relays where they swept us 1-2, which is why the team points were so one-sided. We had several points-scoring athletes out this meet for a variety of reasons, which compounded the end result.”
He noted that the meet is simply a stepping stone towards the district championship meet Feb. 11-12. .
“Silverton’s depth makes them very tough to beat and will have them in contention for the district title,” Andrews predicted. “The championship meet format will help us be more competitive as other teams will chip away at the depth and spread the points out.”
The Warriors had four event winners: sophomore Samuel Bloedel and senior Orianna Buczko in the 500 Freestyle and the 50 Freestyle, and freshman Samantha Walsh in the 200 Individual Medley.
Eleven Warriors also posted personal bests. Girls finishing with PR’s included: junior Aimee Andrews in the 200 Free ( 7.5 seconds), 100 Free (1.5) and 500 Free (26.1); Walsh in the 200 IM (2.5); junior Molly Basting in the 100 Butterfly (4.0); and sophomore Hailey Gutierrez in the 100 Freestyle (2.8).
Personal bests for the boys included: freshman Samuel Williamson in the 100 Backstroke (6.0) and the 50 Free (3.7); freshman Paul Bloedel in the 200 Free (3.0); junior Daniel Tyler in the 50 Free (1.7); sophomore John Kluttz in the 50 Free (1.7); senior Michael Kluttz in the 100 Free (0.3); sophomore Jack Johnson in the 100 Butterfly (2.2) and junior Chase Herb in the 100 Free (0.7).
“Even with the one-sided result, we had some pretty significant best times from several swimmers and others were very close,” Andrews said. “ We experimented with a different approach to the Winter Break training schedule and we think that impacted a few swimmers whom we anticipate to make big time drops. The next couple of meets will give a better representation as we approach the end of season.”
He said some relay spots are still up for grabs.
“Several newer swimmers have filled gaps and rose to the challenge to compete for the final places at the district meet, then the state meet, if we can again qualify,” Andrews said. “We will be testing a few different relay orders and individual swim packages to try and get the fastest outcome in February when it counts.”
The Warriors are back in action, after The New Era went to press, on Tuesday, Jan. 13, against Dallas and Central at the Dallas Aquatic Center.
