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By Allison Seck

Arms extended in a butterfly stroke, senior Noah Collins swims against his competitors Saturday, Dec. 5.

After placing in four relays, the boys swim team took fifth place at the Lansing Relays meet Saturday, Dec. 5. Lansing Relays is a unique meet because, instead of the usual mix of individual and relay events, Lansing only offers relays. The 400-yard free relay team of sophomore Anthony Molinaro, senior Cole McClure, senior Mason Davis and senior Noah Collins placed first with a time of 3:37.82. In addition, the 400-yard medley relay and the 200-yard free relay placed second while the 100-yard free relay placed third.

According to McClure, the team qualified for state in the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard free relay and the 400-yard free relay.

“After our meet today, we know we have all three of our relays qualified,” McClure said. “Now our goal is to find the people best fit to be on those relays. Our best relays at state are likely going to be the 200 medley and the 200 free.”

Molinaro had a mixed reaction about the fifth-place finish.

“We did well at this meet. Even though I wish we got more gold, I’ll take it,” Molinaro said. “We can’t win them all.”

While he enjoys individual events, Collins loved the camaraderie that coincides with relays. 

“I love going out and racing on my own to prove to myself that all the hard work is paying off, but I also like relays because it’s the boys vs. the world,” Collins said. “We tell each other we are going to win and we get hype.”

Similarly, Molinaro argued the team’s friendship helped boost them to success.

“Every day at practice we push each other to become the best swimmers we can; we encourage each other to be better and motivated,” Molinaro said. “We’re all good friends and we all have fun during the season.”

McClure believed the team’s flexibility also contributed to their accomplishments.

“Overall, the stroke ability of the team is fairly diverse,” McClure said. “None of our athletes limit themselves to one event or stroke, allowing our team to be competitive in all areas of a swim meet.”

Due to the ongoing pandemic, no spectators could watch the meet. While it didn’t have a big impact on his races, Collins missed the support from his family.

“I don’t think it really affected me too much. Normally, I block the noise out and focus on what I need to do to win,” Collins said. “It was weird not getting to hug my momma after my race.”

Looking forward, McClure laid out goals for the season. 

“We want to do our best, to give everyone the opportunity to improve themselves as swimmers and to get as many people to state as possible,” McClure said.