The Hopkins men’s swimming team spent the weekend in Charlotte, N.C. while competing in the 2015 Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship. The Blue Jays finished in fourth place after totaling 819 points throughout the four-day event.
The brightest spot for the weekend came on the final day with four swimmers in the 1650 free finals andsophomore Andrew Greenhalgh able to capitalize for the Jays and bring home the bronze medal.
Greenhalgh, who recorded the fifth fastest 1650 time in Hopkins history, was joined in the final by teammates Billy Gravely (fifth), Mikey McGoldrick (seventh) and Josh Hughes (tenth).
According to Greenhalgh, the Jays are confident in the process and looking forward to the rest of the season.
“Last week, for many of the guys qualified for NCAAs already, was sort of a tune up meet,” Greenlagh said. “Many of us were unshaved and untapered, which can be a recipe for disaster. But we had some very solid swims out of this group, which leads many of us to believe that what we are doing is working and that with hard work and rest we will be able to swim fast at the end of the year.”
In the 200 back stroke senior Dylan Davis led Hopkins as he finished in third place. According to Davis, being able to compete in the 200 back stroke has always been a challenge for him.
“200 back is a really tough race,” Davis said. “The first 100 you have to go out fast but stay smooth, then try to build the third 50, and just give it whatever you have left coming home on the last 50.”
In the B final of the event, freshman Andrew Gibson finished 14th overall. Senior Ryan Cunningham finished 18th overall after the C final.
In the 100 free, sophomore Jeremy Bauchwitz finished 10th overall. He was followed by senior Aaron Katrikh (16th), sophomore Patrick Flynn (20th) and freshmen Michael Ashmead (21st) and Davis Knox (22nd).
Hopkins was able to pick up two top-five finishes in the 200 fly as freshman Mark Wilson finished in third place, while fellow classmate Kyle Otazu finished in fifth. Wilson’s 1:50.63 was the 10th fastest time recorded for the 200 fly in school history.
The Jays will now wait until March 18 when they will compete in the 2015 NCAA Championships hosted in Shenandoah, Texas. The Jays will begin their preparation by pushing themselves physically to get stronger before slowing down their regiment, or tapering off, to get ready for the most important part of their season.
“The next month of the season we’re going to start ramping it back up in terms of intensity in practice, then we’ll start resting before NCAAs,” championship finals hopeful Davis said. “Most of the focus is going to be on fine tuning starts and turns, which are essential in a 25 yard pool.”
As the Blue Jays prepare for the NCAA Championships, they will have a month to make adjustments and to fine tune their game. After placing fourth in the Conference Championships, they will need to work to not only compete against the rest of their conference, but the entire country during the finals.
Greenlagh said doing so will be difficult, yet Greenlagh and the rest of the team are optimistic about the team’s strength.
“[Sophomore] Evan Holder is perhaps our biggest weapon going into NCAAs,” Greenlagh said. “He has improved so much since last year, boasting the second fastest 200 IM and 200 freestyle times in the country this year. Furthermore, he is a key relay swimmer. Also a swimmer to lookout for is senior Greg Kogut. He has swam very well all season long and will play an important role on our sprint free and medley relays.”
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