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Volume CXXXII, Number 18 |
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Swimmers paddle to 8th place
ALLISON BENTON
STAFF WRITER
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| After months of being water-logged, the Polar Bears finally retreat to land. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
Finishing a tremendous season with a final weekend of best swims, the men's swim team placed eighth in the NESCAC championships. Over the difficult three days of competition, the men kept their energy high and hung tough in the face of illness and injury, while managing some spectacular finishes.
Nicole Goyette '05 of the women's team said, "The boys were absolutely inspirational to watch. I can't really sum it up any better than to say that they rocked!"
Special congratulations go to Mike Long '04 and Roger Burleigh '06 for making the National B qualifying times in the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly, respectively, with times of 21.26 and 1:54:57.
Long also earned a spot in the top 24 individual scorers in the meet, with a total of 77 points for his team. In each individual race, he made it into the finals, placing seventh in the 50-yard breaststroke, second in the 50 free, and fourth in the 100-yard individual-medley.
As if that was not enough, he also made significant contributions to all four 'A' relays. First-year sensation Burleigh scored points in all the butterfly events, ending up in tenth for the 50, fourth in the 100,and third in the 200. He also joined three relay teams and even swam through an unfortunate collision with teammate Robie Anson '03.
Anson returned from his semester abroad to score in all three of his individual events, like many of his other teammates. Showing off his versatility, he came in the top 24 for the 50 fly, the 100 fly, and the 100-yard backstroke. Fellow senior and co-captain Dave Harden snuck in twenty-third in the 500 free and had a personal best with his seventeenth place finish in the 1000 free.
The swimming brothers, Carter Thomas '06 and Will Thomas '03, made enormous contributions over the weekend with C. Thomas scoring eighteenth in the 50 free and fourteenth in the 100 fly. His elder brother and co-captain, W. Thomas, was, as usual, an inspirational strength for the team, swimming some difficult events to score needed points in races like the 200-yard backstroke.
"We had a great last weekend together," said W. Thomas. "Everyone put their heart out on the line, and we're all very happy with so many personal best times and remarkable finishes."
Brian McGregor '05, the team's sole male diver, ended an impressive season by leaping and twisting into fifth place on both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. Unfortunately, after losing all the other members of the men's diving team throughout the season, he was unable to compete in the exhibitional synchronized competition.
Sophomores Ryan Boutin and Bill Alto both swam the limited number of entries, making contributions on the relays and in individual events. Boutin raced into the top 24 in the three backstroke events-50, 100, and 200-yard-while Alto did the same in his two individual events-the 50-yard freestyle and the 200-yard IM.
The first-year class again proved that Bowdoin has much to look forward to in the next few years with sharks Ian Kyle, Jason Lewis, and Edgar Pabon. As usual, Pabon raced some of the most difficult events back-to-back over the three-day weekend, finishing twentieth in the 1000 free, twenty-second in the 400 IM, and nineteenth in the mile.
Lewis bravely joined him in the medley events, placing twenty-second in the 200 and twentieth in the 400. Kyle also contributed by scoring eighteenth in the 50-yard and 100-yard backstroke and twenty-fourth in the100 IM, while showing off his freestyle on the relays.
Despite the departure of valuable seniors, Bowdoin will stay strong.
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