The Hargrave men remain undefeated in defeating last year’s fourth best team in the state. Hargrave won 100-70.
The men’s swimming team knew two of their biggest guns would not be attending the meet, and that they had to swim well in order to beat Norfolk Academy. Norfolk Academy, true to form, got out of the gate fast and jumped out to an early lead. Hargrave was quick to bring balance back to the scoring as the meet went into its first break Hargrave was down by only three points.
The team swam the next event to an eight point to eight point tie as the meet was moved into its sixth event and the half way point. Senior Jared Wood, who had to remain at Hargrave, usually leads this sixth event. It was now being lead by senior Mike Wheeler, who had not swam this event in a Hargrave dual meet this season. Mike lead the men to a second, third and fourth place finish which outscored Norfolk nine to seven, cutting Norfolk’s lead to 1 point.
The 500y Freestyle would be the next event, and the team was now on a roll. The event was won by James Eu, but it was freshman Joseph Campbell and 8th grader Nigel Hodge who turned in life time best swims to go second and fourth after James. The group outscored Norfolk 12 to four and grabbed the lead in the meet.
The team followed this by going first and third in the 200 Freestyle relay, which widened the lead to 14 points. As the meet closed, the team took first and second in the 400y Freestyle relay. The B team was anchored by Joseph Campbell, who again turned in a lifetime best swim to run down and hold off Norfolk Academy’s A team.
The team was lead by Patrick Martelli, Jacob Dole and James Eu who each won two events, but in the end took an entire team effort to win this hard fought battle.
The men will swim the High School Classic Invitational on Saturday, January 7. This 26-team field is lead by Peddie, the nation’s number 6th ranked high school team. Also included in the meet is Virginia Independent Schools first, second and fourth best teams. Not to mention, the meet’s defending champion returns as well, with all of the second through sixth place finishers from last year. A top ten finish would be an outstanding showing for the team, but holding true form the Coach Bowser has created a ‘beyond the star’ goal of going top five. Wish the men luck as they feel the whole school’s support in reaching the goal.
