Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
The Warsaw Tiger boys swim team continues to do what it does best - win.
Thursday night's victim came in the form of the Bremen Lions. Warsaw rode a balanced effort by all of its swimmers to give head coach Terry Aukeman reason to be optimistic about this year's campaign.
"We're getting a real good start to this season. We're swimming really well for this time of year. We're still working on things and trying to get ready for sectional and conference. We're using our meets to focus on what we're supposed to be working on and we're doing well with it."
The Tigers are being led by a solid group of seniors that includes Steven Lowrance, a pleasant surprise for coach Aukeman.
"Steven Lowrance is working real well. The last three meets he's been improving," said Aukeman
In fact, Lowrance swam a personal best in the 100 freestyle the last three races. Lowrance placed first Thursday with a time of 49.23, beating Bremen's Patrick Gumz by nearly six seconds. Lowrance also won the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.95.
Fellow Tiger senior Nate Long finished first in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:50.07 beating teammate Jason McClintock, who finished second, by nine seconds. McClintock also finished second in the 500 freestyle with a personal best time of 5:26.35 and placed first along with Long, Lowrance and Nate Taylor in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:28.02.
Taylor and Lowrance had four first place finishes against Bremen to lead the Tigers.
Besides the 400 freestyle, Taylor, who's only a junior, won the 200 individual medley, 100 breaststroke and was a member of the winning 200 medley relay team along with Thad Wallin, Kyle Marose and Lowrance.
Wallin, another senior, grabbed a first-place finish in the 100 backstroke with a time of 56.82
Aukeman's underclassmen have also been stepping up.
Sophomore Seth Smoker swam a personal best of 1:04.25 in the 100 butterfly to finish fourth while fellow sophomore Mike Suhany placed second in the 200 individual medley and first with Chris Martz, Marose and Long in the 200 freestyle relay.
Junior Adam Wishart, a Tiger soccer player during the fall, netted first place in the diving competition with a score of 212.90. Tigers Nate Wilson placed second with a score of 195.50 while Simon Jefferis ended third with 140.15
The Lions managed just one first place finish against Warsaw. Freshman Jon Hueni won the 100 butterfly with a time of 56.00 and the 500 freestyle with a time of 5:09.81 for Bremen.
The girls swim team rejoins the boys in the pool Saturday in Elkhart against Memorial. It will be the last meet for both squads until January 5th against Valley in Akron.
Saturday's meet is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. at Memorial High School pool with diving kicking things off.
WARSAW 127, BREMEN 56
200 Medley relay - 1. Thad Wallin, Nate Taylor, Kyle Marose, Steve Lowrance (W) 1:42.51, 2. Bremen 1:52.15, 3. Warsaw 1:56.77
200 freestyle - 1. Nate Long (W) 1:50.07, 2. Jason McClintock 1:59.66, 3. Joe Harrison (B) 2:07.47
200 IM - 1. Taylor (W) 2:03.66, 2. Mike Suhany (W) 2:26.18, 3. Lui Rui (W) 2:27.86
50 freestyle - 1. Lowrance (W) 22.95, 2. Ryan Marose (W) 24.89, 3. Mitch Huber (B) 28.30
Diving - 1. Adam Wishart (W) 212.90, 2. Nate Wilson (W) 196.50, 3. Simon Jefferis (W) 140.15
100 Butterfly - 1. Jon Hueni (B) 56.00, 2. Wallin (W) 1:01.82, 3. Tom Tahara (B) 1:02.61
100 freestyle - 1. Lowrance (W) 49.23, 2. Patrick Gumz (B) 55.82, 3. Derek McCreery (W) 1:00.07
500 freestyle - 1. Hueni (B) 5:09.81, 2. McClintock (W) 5:26.35, 3. Munsch (W) 5:40.71
200 freestyle relay - 1. Suhany, Chris Martz, Marose, Long (W) 1:37.55, 2. Warsaw 1:45.85, 3. Bremen 1:47.90
100 backstroke - 1. Wallin (W) 56.82, 2. Huber (W) 1:05.03, 3. Hanson (W) 1:06.11
100 breaststroke - 1. Taylor (W) 1:02.37, 2. Harrison (B) 1:07.03, 3. Marose (W) 1:12.01
400 freestyle relay - 1. Long, McClintock, Lowrance, Taylor (W) 3:28.02, 2. Bremen 3:47.04, 3. Warsaw 3:52.89
