By Patrick Francis ‘19
The Saint Ignatius High School swimming and diving Team officially made history at the Lakewood sectional meet by qualifying all 20 swimmers and divers into the district meet. This accomplishment is definitely not easy, and has never been done here at Ignatius ever before.
All the hard work and dedication that the team has put in throughout the year now showing even more, and it is when it matters most. The Wildcats began their stellar performance by qualifying both divers at the diving portion of the Lakewood Sectional Meet. Will Claus finished second with a score of 468.40, while Noah Keim came in sixth with a score of 340.65.
Moving forward into Saturday’s events, the Wildcats’ 200 medley relay took second place. John Libertin, Nicky Hong, Joe Richmond, and John Soeder combined for a mark of 1:39.41 for silver. Later in the day, Richmond sailed to first in the event with a time of 1:47.82. Thomas Metz trailed him in sixth at 1:52.96. Michael Bednar came close with an eighth-place time of 1:53.17, and Cameron Marcie came in at 12th place at 1:55.15.
Fast Forward to the last event, the Wildcats finished with the 400 free relay.Haywood, Richmond, Murtha, and Soeder combined for a time of 3:13.64.
Coach Lehto and the Wildcats kept the momentum rolling into Districts. The squad qualified 8 men for the State Meet, finishing 2nd at Districts. The State Meet went well, too, with the Aqua Cats finishing 8th. Tyler Hong starred by earning medals in several events. With a young squad, the Cats are stacked for next year.
