Pool Records, Learning Highlight Start of the Season

They say the best thing about freshmen is that they turn into Sophomores. With our first meet under our belt, that was never more evident than today. There are a lot of different thoughts running and I’ll try to collect them here. I’ll confess, that my attention might be distracted. It pains me that so many college kids have never been exposed to some of the great works of American Cinema. So today, for the return trip I made sure to bring along one of the classics – Blazing Saddles.

But I digress. Here are the quick thoughts on today’s 162-132 loss for the good guys. First thought – we have a team that can be VERY good. Second thought – we’ve got a LOT TO LEARN. When horn sounded, Wabash was ready to pounce while we were still getting our bearings. By mid meet, the Little Giants had built up a 40+ point lead. By the back half though, we’d begun to hit our stride. Mistakes made in the early races were corrected in the second half. By the end, we’d made a meet of it. Some highlights:

• Andy Bax, Nathan Ripley, Jeff Walkotten and Bryce Davis equalled the fastest unrested 400 free relay in school history (12th fastest all time)
• Kyle Drake jumped onto the top-ten list in the 100 (5th) and 200 (6th) backstrokes.
• Derek Schneider became the 7th fastest 1000 freestyler in school history.
• The 200 Medley relay of Kyle Drake, Schranck, Bax and Davis was the 11th fastest in school history and second-fastest unrested ever.
  

A lot of credit goes to Wabash. They competed tough and as always, were a classy bunch to race against. In a lot of years we’d start with an easier opponent. The problem with those meets is they don’t really expose your weaknesses. They don't make you a better team. This year’s schedule is the toughest we’ve ever faced – five top-25 teams, two more conference champions and 4-5 Division I & II schools – but its one that I think will prepare us well for February and March. Wabash, for instance, is one of the teams that we’ll be battling for relay spots with and by the time we reach the CCIW and NCAA Championships, we should be well rehearsed for some great performances.