Lincoln-Sudbury Boys Swim Team Drops Close Meets to St. John's Prep, Weston

The Lincoln-Sudbury boys swim team was busy last week with two meets against their best competition in St. Johns Prep and Weston.

The Warriors lost to St. Johns Prep, 94-84.

The meet started off with the 200 medley relay team of Tom Edwards, Sam Mackie, Ryan Fleming and Joe Merullo victorious in a close race. Bryan Johnson came in second in the 200 freestyle race (1:50:46) against formidable opponent Ryan Fortin (1:49.50).  

Mackie placed second in the 200 IM (2:01.92). The 50 and 100 freestyle races were fast with great competition. Fleming placed second both events with first-rate times of 22.62 and 49.49, respectively.  

The St. John's Prep diving team swept first second and third place.  

Edwards shined for L-S coming in first in the 100 fly ( 56.29) and first in the 100 backstroke (56.95). Chris Wilkins swam his person best 500 freestyle race with a sectional qualifying time of 5:18.37. The 200 freestyle relay race was great competition as well, with the team of Matt Shelley, Andrei Rikitin, Dillon Brown and Merullo placing third.

The most exciting race of the meet was the 100 breastroke race that could not have come closer in competition with Mackie coming in second with a time of 59.59 against Ryan Fortin, who won the event with a time of 59.58. To conclude the meet L-S won the 400 freestyle relay with the team of Fleming, Edwards, Johnson and Mackie ( 3:28.61).

L-S raced against Weston in a spirited competition. Before the last boys event of the competition the score was tied at 86, leaving the 400 freestyle relay to decide the victor.  The Weston stands were full of L-S fans in their red shirts cheering on the Warriors. Many personal best times were achieved but the overall team score was just shy of a victory.

The meet was kicked off with a win by the medley relay powerhouse team of Edwards (back), Mackie (breast), Fleming (fly) and Johnson (free), who won by a comfortable margin, earning eight points for the Warriors.

In the 200 freestyle race, Johnson (1:49.80), Brown (1:56.93)  and Jake Hogan (2:01.95) took second, third, and fourth place. The 200 IM had Mackie (2:03.09), Taylor Brown (2:12.96), and Chris Wilkins (2:17.46) placing second, third and fourth.  

Ryan Fleming and Joe Merullo placed first and fifth in the 50 freestyle race, respectively. In the diving competition, L-S's Tom Novick and Kevin Henderson placing fourth and fifth, respectively. The 100 backstroke was tough competition for the Warriors. Edwards and Billig placed third and fifth for the Warriors.  

The 100 freestyle race was the highlight of the meet for L-S with a one-two punch from Fleming winning the race with the time of 48.85, well beyond the state qualifying time, and Johnson placing second with a time of 49.87. Andrei Rikitin placed fifth in this event (54.21).  

The grueling 500 freestyle event was made to look easy by a great performance by a Weston swimmer coming in at 4:58.31. The competition fueled the L-S swimmers with an equally outstanding performance by freshman Chris Wilkins, who placed second with a sectional qualifying time of 5:15.73. Freshman Jake Hogan placed third and in an exciting battle for fourth place as freshman Nate Thomas won, which allowed the Warriors to win the overall event in points for the team.  

The 200 freestyle relay was close but the win went to the Red Tide and second place to the Warriors. Edwards dominated the 100 backstroke with a phenomenal time of 56.35. Dillon Brown swam strong and placed third in this event (1:00.10). Mackie, Taylor Brown and Ryan Kenney swept the 100 breaststroke event earning the majority of this events points for the team.  

At this point in the competition the score was tied. The score was announced before the 400 yard freestyle relay. Fans were on their feet clapping and cheering but the Weston lineup was too much to overcome and the win went to Weston.