The Rockets started off their season with a thrilling victory against the Whitman team. The latest meet against Whitman kept the winning streak, but ended in a narrow victory of six points towards for the RM team.
The boys did exceptionally well: winning by a grand total of 73 points and finishing in first place in all but one event. However, the RM girls suffered a hard loss. Though they tried their best and pushed through every event, they were unable to secure first place in any.
As usual, the meet started out with diving. The swimmers cheered from the side of the pool, and watched as junior Ian McBain claimed the first six points of the meet with a final score of 178.45. The girls got third and fourth, but still earned five points for the team.
When the divers finished, the swimmers began to get ready for their first event: the 200 medley relay. Both the boys A and B relays victoriously finished before the other team and secured twelve points for the RM team.
The boys gained motivation after the first few events, and carried it all the way to the last relay. Following the beginning relays, the boys scored a sweep in 50 freestyle while the girls missed first place by just twenty-two milliseconds.
However, both girls and boys fell short in the dreaded 500 freestyle event. Sophomore John Clado raced a Whitman senior, and finished a few seconds after. The girls were also defeated by Whitman and took third, fifth, and sixth.
The team didn’t let one event harm their overall work—if anything, they worked harder. The boys swept the event right after: 100 backstroke. Senior Matt Nguyen, junior Jack Rose, and freshman Ian Song were racing each other. Rose finished a mere 20 milliseconds after the captain, Nguyen, and still earned four points for the team. In the same event, senior Grace Sun was less than a second away from first place.
By the time the 400 medley relay took place, the boys were fairly certain that they had taken the win. The A relay slammed into the wall a full three seconds before Whitman, and the entire event gave RM an extra ten points.
Overall, this was a tremendous victory for the boys and the RM team. Although the girls suffered a loss, they still have plenty of potential and time to improve. “I think we’re all really working hard to be the best that we can be,” said sophomore Emily Troutman. “It’s definitely pretty early in the season, so there is still room for improvement for everyone.”
The team will face BCC following a brief rest during winter break.
