By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
The 200-yard freestyle relay couldn’t have been much closer in the SCC meet between the boys swim & dive teams from Plainwell and host Allegan on Tuesday, Feb. 4.
The Trojans ended up prevailing in that event, as Sam Harper out-touched Allegan’s Oliver Burnett by a 136.43-1:36.48 margin.
The rest of the meet wasn’t quite as close, as the Trojans remained unbeaten in league action at 5-0 with the 97-75 victory.
“We had a good meet with Allegan,” Plainwell coach Andrea Murphy said. “I felt bad because (Allegan’s) team was pretty sick and they had to make a lot of changes.
“I think it would have been a lot more competitive if they had their full lineup and we know they will be a challenge at the (conference) championship meet.”
Austin Susens was the lone Plainwell athlete to win multiple individual events, taking the 200 free at 2:04.09 and the 500 free at 5:45.48.
Susens was also part of Plainwell’s winning efforts in the 200 and 400 free relays. He joined with Alex Steele, Grady Nugent, Davis Nooney and Harper to win the 200 free relay, while teaming with Steele, Hiro Nguyen and Harper to win the 400 free relay (3:46.04).
Steele (2:18.94 in the 200 IM), Harper (49.5 in the free), Ben Sparks (1:02.92 in the 100 backstroke) and Aidan Ranger (172.9 in diving) accounted for the Trojans’ other event wins.
Allegan, meanwhile, had a strong start to the meet as the 200 medley relay team of Cadel Conrad, Ezra Smith, Burnett and Sam Kelley posted a winning time of 1:47.09.
Burnett also won the 50 free (23.12) and the 100 butterfly (58.84), while Smith won the 100 breaststroke (1:10.18).
“We put up a strong fight against (conference) top-ranked Plainwell,” Allegan coach Carol Gephart said. “Despite missing several key swimmers due to illness, we delivered outstanding performances, showing significant improvement across the board.
“Perhaps the most exciting takeaway from the meet was the continued growth of our young swimmers. Charlie Morris, Adam Mozery, Gabe Thorsen, Emerson Scripps, and Jon DeLaet all recorded significant personal bests, demonstrating the hard work and dedication fueling the team’s progress.
“Even though we didn’t come away with the win, tonight was a success in many ways. We had some fantastic races, and our younger swimmers continue to make big strides. This team is improving every time we compete, and that’s what matters most.”
