MADISON, IN – The Bulldogs swim team traveled Saturday, Dec 4 to take on the Small Team Invitational hosted by Madison high school. The Bulldogs traveled well and had a strong showing at the annual invitational.
“This was a great opportunity to showcase what we’ve been working so hard on,” said head coach Greg McMullen. “We hit a few bumps in the road, but overall we’re extremely proud of how our Bulldogs represented our school at this invite.”
A highlight of the meet came out of junior newcomer Blake Hon, swimming his first 200 and 500 double of the season. Coach McMullen commented, “leading up to this week, Blake hadn’t, yet, completed a full 200 in practice. It hadn’t come up in our season plan but we asked if he was willing to do it to try and earn some points and get some quality swimming in. And of course he said ‘yes’.”
Hon said this to his coaches after the race, “honestly it was easier than I thought it would be…[catches breath]…I’d do it again.”
On the women’s side Maria Lopez once again led in the scoring with a second (100 Fly) and third (200 IM) posting near lifetime bests in both events. “When I told Maria that she hit that close to her LTB in the 100 Fly we were both overly excited. It’s been since Sophomore year when she hit that time and it’s showing that our weight and water time have been hitting the right marks. Now we just need to carry this momentum into the rest of the season,” said McMullen.
Overall, the Bulldogs have been improving quickly with the team gradually finding their groove. Sean Callahan and Will Johnson have really started hitting their stride in their signature events with Johnson taking the 50 Free in a 23.40 with second place only .04 behind. While Callahan finished in second in the 500 Free and 200 IM, both with season best times.
While in-season times are always hit-or-miss, one of the best metrics they look at are where athletes are from previous seasons to now and the Bulldogs, at least in their coaches’ eyes are a lot further ahead than they have been.
TEAM SCORES
Men
- Madison, 380
- North Harrison, 285
- Batesville, 249
Women
- Madison, 357
- Batesville, 291
- North Harrison, 206
BULLDOG TOP FINISHERS
Men
- Will Johnson — 1st, 50 Free and 2nd, 100 Free
- Sean Callahan — 2nd, 200 IM and 500 Free
- Ciaran Tyrer — 2nd, 100 Fly and 100 IM
Women
- Maria Lopez — 3rd, 200 IM and 2nd, 100 Fly
- Averi Jones — 3rd, 50 Free
- Taylor Blanton — 3rd,100 Backstroke
- Sarah Bedel — 3rd, 100 Breaststroke
UP NEXT
The Batesville Bulldogs swim team will be visiting Shelbyville High School for the Shelbyville Relay invitational on December 11. Meet starts at 1:00pm.
