Boys' Swim Smashes St. John's Prep
Senior and co-captain Taylor Walshe rushed towards the wall, anchoring the the first event of the meet: the 200-yard medley relay. As he peered at the “1” next to his lane number on the scoreboard, the rest of the swimmers finished close behind. The relay quartet—lowers Charlie Venci and Andrew Benson, upper Jared Zhang, and Walshe—finished a staggering seven seconds ahead of the other team’s best squad. Accompanied by the cheers of Exeter teammates, this race set the tone for the rest of the meet.
"On Saturday, the boys’ varsity swimming team hosted St. John’s Prep (SJP) in a cutthroat dual meet."
On Saturday, the boys’ varsity swimming team hosted St. John’s Prep (SJP) in a cutthroat dual meet. After a competitive matchup, Exeter won with a outstanding score of 105-81. This meet added another victory to their season record of 4-1.
Entering the meet, the team’s goal was to gather as many event wins as possible. Walshe expressed the team’s attitude going into the meet.“The mindset was to win,” he said. “Everyone knew it was going to be close, so we had to swim strong to the finish for each race.”
Senior Jamie Cassidy mentioned SJP’s infamous winning chant and how it affects the Exeter team’s motivation. “St. John’s is known for having a very obnoxious chant where they yell ‘P-R-E-P PREP PREP PREP’ after every win,” he explained. Lower Andrew Sun agreed with Cassidy and stressed the team’s desire “to win every race [to] stop them from saying it.”
The meet was filled with noteworthy swims from all members of the team. Benson and Zhang each won two events. Benson won the 200-yard individual medley and the 500-yard freestyle while Zhang took the 200-yard and 100-yard freestyle events. Walshe and Venci both clutched much-needed wins in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard backstroke respectively.
In a thrilling end to the meet, relay anchor Benson made up a near two second deficit to overtake SJP’s 400-yard freestyle relay team. Prep Adam Tuchler described Benson’s triumphant swim. “All it took was his dive to get right next to the rival swimmer,” he said. “He ended up crushing the other team, bringing a victory.”
Another highlight was the 100-yard breaststroke, where Cassidy charged into a second place finish. Despite getting edged out by his opponent, Cassidy dropped an incredible two seconds from his previous personal best time. It was his electrifying energy and reaction to the swim that made this an exciting race. Venci praised Cassidy’s race by describing him as a “powerhouse breaststroker on [the] team.”
Cassidy’s spirited swim was only one of many which demonstrated the team’s positive attitude throughout the meet. Walshe recognized this as an improvement from previous meets. “The team has gotten better at motivating each other,” he said. “Coach [Don] Mills told us afterwards that our support for our teammates was a huge factor in the win. Jamie was a big part of that.” Agreeing with Walshe, Cassidy elaborated on the new team dynamic. “A big piece for us has been having each other’s backs,” he said. “We’re putting up good times for this part of the season, and we just love getting each other going.”
Cassidy also commented on the unprecedented energy on the pool deck. “After every swim we would play short bursts of music on the sideline and go nuts, running and dancing around the pool deck,” he explained.
The boys are looking forward to their upcoming away meet this Saturday against Choate Rosemary Hall. Choate has a unique 25-meter pool, which is longer than Exeter’s 25-yard pool. Walshe stressed the team’s need to prepare for the different format. “I presume we will increase the yardage in practice to get us ready for the longer pool,” he said.
Big Red will be seeking a decisive win against Choate to set them up well for the interscholastic championship at the end of the season. Venci commented, “There is a freight train headed full speed at Interschols, and it’s gonna go right through the competition. That freight train is us.”