Wawasee Swim Teams Outpace Chargers
SYRACUSE — Wawasee’s boys and girls swim teams both earned a pair of convincing wins over Northern Lakes Conference foe Elkhart Memorial Tuesday evening.
The Warriors swept the top spot in all 12 events on the way to a 125-49 win, while the Lady Warriors claimed wins in all but the butterfly en route to a 130-52 victory at home at the Wawasee Middle School pool.
“I was extremely pleased with the boys and girls this evening. We had numerous lifetime bests,” said Wawasee swim coach Julie Robinson.
“It was a great meet, and I am looking forward to seeing what each of these young athletes can do the rest of the season.”
Jacob Krugman was a four-time winner as a member of Wawasee’s winning 400 free relay (3:43.71) and medley relay (1:56.07) squads, and he added wins in both the breaststroke (1:07.39) and the butterfly (1:00.39).
“Jacob Krugman stepped into the 100 fly for his team without question and is doing an exceptional job. It says a lot about his character as this has not been a typical swim for him in his past, and it is a race most don’t want to do,” explained Robinson.
Karlson Hand was another four-peat winner for the Warriors, with victories alongside Krugman in both the medley and 400 free relays, as well as in the individual medley (2:13.87) and the backstroke (1:02.64), where Wawasee went one-two-three.
“Karlson Hand is swimming really well this year,” said Robinson. “He has been pushing himself in his practices and it showing in his results. He has grown both in his swimming abilities and confidence.”
Bryce Knepp collected four wins of his own for the Warriors in the freestyle swims, with wins on Wawasee’s 400 free and 200 free (1:43.18) relay squads, as well as in both the 50 free (25.32) and the 100 free (55.69). Jared Krugman earned wins in the 200 free and 400 free relays as well as the 200 free (1:53.33) — where Wawasee crowded out the top three spots — and the 500 free (5:00.08) as the Warriors’ fourth and final four-peat winner Tuesday. Brady Claassen cruised to a win in the dive competition with a 227.05 score to open the evening for Wawasee’s boys, who moved to 2-0 both on the season and in the NLC.
Rileigh Atwood and Ella Park claimed four wins each for the Lady Warriors, meanwhile, with both swimming on their team’s winning 200 free (1:53.07) and 400 free relay (4:07.3) teams, Atwood winning both the 100 freestyle (58.96) and the breaststroke (1:10.38), and Park collecting individual wins in the 200 free (2:10.15) and 500 free (5:39.08).
Freestyle specialist Ali Haberman was another four-peat winner for the Lady Warriors, swimming on all three of her team’s winning relays and taking top honors in the 50 free (28.27).
“She too has grown in her confidence from last year and is already swimming right at her lifetime best times,” said Robinson. “Her smiles tonight after her races were almost as bright as the lights in the pool. It is always fun to see that kind of excitement after a race.”
Lily Tyler was a three-time winner in both the 200 free and 400 free relays, as well as in the individual medley (2:27.52), and Madison McClintick topped the podium in the girls 1-meter dive with a lifetime best 139.1 score.
Wawasee’s girls move to 1-2 and 1-1 in the NLC. Wawasee’s swim teams host Concord next Tuesday at 5 p.m.