By Helen Zeidman Editor-in-Chief Swimming may seem like a quiet sport at first, since all of the athletes are holding their breath the entire time, but a Red Lion swimming meet is anything but silent. Despite the hot and humid atmosphere, the bleachers are crammed with enthusiastic parents, siblings, and swimming alumni. In such an enclosed space, the roar of the crowd and athletes rivals that of a football stadium. Everything from the encouraging chants to the coach’s yellow and white Converse screams school spirit. Athletes are always crowded on the side of the pool, ready to scream encouragement at their teammates. Their spirit percolates through everything, making the team more connected.
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By Carly Guise Junior Editor-in-Chief Red Lion’s varsity swim team has made rebuilding a priority this year. “We had a top few swimmers graduate last year,” said Hannah Coligan, head varsity swim coach, “so we need the younger swimmers to step up and fill spots.” And a few of them have. Coach Coligan called junior Jacob Lorenzen “an energizer bunny” and the “master of distance,” while sophomore David White is versatile with strength in various strokes. On the girls’ team, senior Claire Aggen is one of the team’s strongest swimmers, both in and out of the pool. “She can out-bench, -squat, and -deadlift anyone on the team,” Coligan said. By Paul Jones Sports Editor With the Rio Olympics being the last summer games for many great athletes like Usain Bolt and Carmelo Anthony, the most decorated Olympian ever said his final goodbye. Michael Phelps competed in his last Olympic games and he exited in gold money fashion. The U.S. dominated in the pool just like they did throughout the games. Phelps contributed to the cause by adding five golds and a silver to the medal count. By Eli Gregory
Marketing and Communications Editor After a 5-1 record, Red Lions swim team prepared to take another win during their meet against South Western at home. “I think it should be an easy win for us,” said senior swim captain Emma Rhinehart. “But we are going into the meet giving it our all.” The results of the meet were as expected; a blowout for Red Lion with the boys 111 to 59 and the girls 125 to 45. Both the girls and the boys teams showed determination to win, and it payed off for them greatly. The meet started off with senior captain Connor Brandt rallying the team with an inspiring chant. Red Lion dominated a majority of events, with some events having all of Red Lion’s swimmers in the top places. The women’s 100 yard breaststroke, the men’s 500 yard free stroke, and the men’s 200 yard IM were some of these events where Red Lion’s swimmers took the top three spots. A few of the top performers included Dylan North and Emma Rhinehart. In the 100 yard fly, Senior Dylan North came 7.15 seconds ahead of second place, and 5.22 seconds ahead of second in the 200 yard IM. Senior Emma Rhinehart was another swimmer who finished long before the competition, almost 17 seconds ahead of second place in the 500 yard free. Her lead was established as soon as the race started and she maintained the gap the entire event. “Watching them do well and have fun makes me really miss the team and family atmosphere,” said senior and former swimmer Garrett Aguilar. He was one of many Red Lion students in the stands to cheer on the Lions. Throughout the meet, Red Lion continued to rally each other on and keep morale boosted. Team members walked alongside swimmers or waited at the edges of the pool, shouting and cheering. “It’s awesome to be on a team like this,” said freshman Olivia Moore. “They are always there for you and make the races so much better.” By Adrianna Clinton Co-Editor-in-Chief After a long season of grueling morning and evening practices, the Red Lion swim team fared well against their Division I opponents this season, and sent many to the YAIAA Championships, as well as the District III competition. The girls finished with a league record of 4-1 and overall finished 7-2, earning them second in Division I only to Dallastown, whose boys and girls have won the league title every year since 2009. Their brightest moment, however, came against a team on senior night who defeated them last season in a heartbreaker. “It was kind of sad but it made us want to beat them more...we had trained all year, hoping to win our Central York meet as the underdogs and we did,” senior Anne Mitzel said. Other highlights for the girls team include when senior Courtney Schaefer broke a Spring Grove pool record en route to a victory against the Rockets in the 200 individual medley with a time of 2:08.64, with the original record being 2:09.93. While the boys were not so victorious against Central York, their season was just shy of the same success the girls experienced, finishing 3-2 in their division and 6-3 overall. “We lost a lot of talent with Eli (Aggen), Chance (King), Callum (Brandt), and Alex (Clark). The team really stepped up every meet. We lost to [York] Suburban by one point, and lost to Dallastown and Central, who are the best of the best,” senior Deion Prince said. For several seniors, their swimming career will not end at Red Lion, but instead they will be moving on to the collegiate level. Courtney Schaefer and Anne Mitzel will both be swimming in college at Division I Georgia Southern and Division III Messiah College, respectively, and Nick Petrella will attend Elizabethtown College and swim. Seniors moving onto districts in individual competition include Nick Petrella, Colin Sload-Diehl, Courtney Schaefer, and Amira Washington-Myers. Notably, junior Dyan North is seeded No. 1 in District III in the 500-yard freestyle, with a time of 4:44.58. By Brooks Argento Staff Writer Red Lion swimmers splash into the water at the peak of sunrise, as they prepare for an early workout beginning at 5:30 am Mondays and Wednesdays. The swim team is the only team to arrive to school early for pre-school practices. When asked about her feelings towards the morning practices Sophomore Emma Rinehart said. “They are tough but I know we need something to push us to the next level.” This year’s swimming team returns a group which contributed to a 4-3 season for the girls, and a 3-4 season for the boys. This year will mark new leadership for both squads as the teams are now under the direction of new head coach Chris Doemland and Assistant Coach Kirsten Petrella. This team returns most of their starters from last season, including Chance King, Dylan North, Callum Brandt, and Eli Aggen. These of which make up the 4x4 medley relay team that last year broke the school record on their way to districts last year. The girls team returns very experienced names including Morgan Grove, Courtney Schaefer, and Emma Rinehart. A highly anticipated freshman by the name of Jessica Sun will be joining the ranks for the girls as well. The season kicked off Dec. 12, 2013 with a home meet against New Oxford. |
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