Unlike the girls’ senior night, the pool deck was not adorned with balloons, motivational posters, and only two streamers were seen wrapped around the top railing of the balcony last Friday. However, the same excitement was in the air. A slideshow displaying the smiling faces of each graduating senior was shown on the scoreboard before the meet as the swimmers completed their warm-ups. Although the Wolves took first and second in many races, it wasn’t enough to beat Evanston.

Right from the start, there was tough competition between the Wildkits and the Wolves, as the swimmers were neck-in-neck with each other during the first event of the night (200-medley relay). The boys finished a second behind Evanston with a time of 1:45.34, placing second and third in the event. The next race, however, was a different story.

During the 200 freestyle, freshman Eric Scott was already in the lead after his first lap, and by the second time around he was a body length ahead of his closest competitor. Scott placed first in the event with a time of 1:54.46. Junior Sergei Lemesh took third in the 200 IM with a time of 2:15.11, with sophomore teammate Chris Matei close behind at 2:21.03, placing fourth.

There seemed to be a few one-hand touches at the walls when there should’ve been two-hand touches, and the coaches did not let the errors go unnoticed. Freshman coach Jason Macejak was seen praising his swimmers and then letting them know that it was crucial to be careful about their turns, which were causing them to become disqualified.

Right before diving, the fast-paced 50 freestyle took place. Senior Thomas Tabatt claimed first with a time of 24.65 on the JV level while fellow seniors Chris Hanusiak, Max Romanelli, and captain Andrew Mudreac took third, fourth, and fifth on the varsity level with respective times of 24.03, 24.23, and 24.77.

After diving took place, the underclassmen formed two rows on the pool deck for the graduating seniors and their parents to walk through. Seniors Earl Chough, Max Romanelli, Thomas Tabatt, Chris Hanusiak, Berkh Tsogbaatar, and captains Eric Himmler, David Heller, Andrew Mudreac, and Drake Nickell all walked down the pool deck, hugging teammates and high-fiving as they went. Once all seniors were at the other end of the pool deck, they jumped onto the diving boards and dove into the pool with their warmups on, garnering laughter and applause from both spectators and swimmers alike.

The second half of the meet was sprinkled with a few first-place finishes here and there, including a first-place by Nickell in the 100 freestyle with a time of 49.83 and the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:34.44.

All in all, the meet may not have been a red W for the Wolves, but it was still a solid way to end the season.