Cathedral Prep swimming was lights-out against McDowell at HFEC on Monday evening. The girls dominated the pool, outscoring their opponent 122-63. The boys fought hard and got the win, 103-80. The highlight of the night was junior Maria Costa’s record-breaking swim in the 200-yard Individual Medley, where she shattered her own past record by nearly a second and a half.
“I wasn’t expecting to drop almost two seconds from my personal record,” Maria said. “Going into the race, I was hoping to stay near my best time. But I knew what I had done this season so far and that I could accomplish my goal to stop time. Looking back, I am very pleased.”
Maria also earned a win in the 200-yard Medley relay, the 100-yard Backstroke, and the 200-yard Freestyle relay.
Another notable performance from the girls came from freshman Jaslene Cage. In her first rivalry meet, she captured individual first place finishes in the 50-yard Freestyle and the 100-yard Breastroke, also helping her teammates to wins in the Medley relay and the 200 Freestyle relay.
“The atmosphere at my first rivalry meet was amazing,” Jaslene said. “I know I swam well because of my competition and my support from my teammates. I am looking forward to experiencing this atmosphere again at Districts, where we will race against some of the best athletes in the region.”
As a whole, the girls team saw other outstanding performances from junior Ellie Natemeier, freshman Kendal Johnston, and seniors Ellie Brugger and Josie Dufala.
“The win as a team felt amazing,” Maria said. “We have all worked hard and waited for this time to arrive to show what we are capable of. Whether we were under the weather or not feeling the best, we pushed ourselves and earned the win!”
On the boys side, some hard-fought wins were earned to outlast McDowell’s strong crew. Prep kept the lead for the entirety of the meet, but their winning margin fluctuated throughout the meet, adding a certain intensity to the swims of the Rambler boys.
“I knew coming into the meet that there was going to be a competitive atmosphere,” sophomore Jack Raimy said. “The environment motivated us all to focus and swim our fastest.”
Jack offered a standout performance for the evening, fighting for individual wins in the 100-yard Butterfly and the 100-yard Backstroke. His strong start in the Backstroke leg of the 200-yard Medley relay got the meet off to a winning start. And in the final leg of the 400-yard Freestyle relay, he came up from behind and touched out his opponent to clinch the meet win.
“In that final leg, I knew I had to step up and bring it home,” Jack said. “My teammate, Owen Carson, did a great job getting the race close before I went. I was driven to bring it home for my teammates, but we couldn’t have won it without everyone: it was a team effort.”
More impactful swims for the boys came from junior Colin Troutman, junior Matt Hinman, and senior Drew Brown.
“The team has an incredible ability to push through setbacks,” Drew said. “We put ourselves through much more demanding situations in practices in order to prepare or the meets. Being able to push through difficulty is something we expect as a team, and I am glad to see everyone’s hard work pay off.”
The Ramblers look ahead to the final stretch of their meet season, soon anticipating another win in the District-10 Championship meet on March 1st and 2nd.
“One thing that makes us one of the best teams in the area is our effort,” Jaslene said. “No matter who our competitor is, we will be prepared and ready to give it our all. Our effort definitely showed on Monday, but we have proved that we are ready for the big meets coming up in the near future.”
