The Slicers traveled to Hobart today for the Sectional prelims. 11 boys swam, and 10 are coming back for finals. There were a lot of outstanding swims tonight, and everyone deserves kudos for their perseverance and dedication. LaPorte opened with a 5th place finish in the 200 Medley Relay with: Hugo Luna-Zetina (backstroke), James Quadlin (breaststroke), Roman Garay (butterfly), and Carson Retseck (freestyle). In the 200 Freestyle, Vijay Pillai, Hugo Luna-Zetina, and Milo Jimenez all made the 'B' final, finishing 11th, 13th and 14th respectively. In the 200 Individual Medley, James Quadlin finished 6th, heading into the 'A' final. Malachi Talbot finished 15th for a return to the 'B' final. Quadlin also finished 6th in the 100 Breaststroke, with Karter Griffin finishing 12th, and Bryce Kovalcin 17th as first alternate. In the 50 Freestyle, Carson Retseck finished 2nd with a lifetime PR of 21.97 seconds. Freshmen Noah Waak and Aedan Bailey finished 19th and 22nd. Retseck also finished 2nd in the 100 Freestyle, with Roman Garay 0.06 seconds behind in 3rd. In the 100 Butterfly, Vijay Pillai and Bryce Kovalcin are returning Saturday with 13th and 14th place finishes. Aedan Bailey finished 20th with a 7 second time drop. Bailey came from football this year, with very little swim experience. He has consistently dropped time all season, and tonight's performance was impressive. Milo Jimenez had the swim of his life tonight in the 500 Freestyle. Jimenez is a workhorse, who never misses practice. I told him: Don't worry. The taper will work for you. Jimenez dropped 13 seconds in his race to make the 'A' final for the first time in his career! Malachi Talbot also had a lifetime PR, and finished 10th. The Slicers finished 6th in the 200 Freestyle Relay with: Talbot, Pillai, Waak and Jimenez. All four boys had great splits, with Jimenez getting yet another lifetime PR. Roman Garay finished 1st in the 100 Backstroke, with a lifetime PR of 53.48 seconds. Hugo Luna-Zetina had a lifetime PR, breaking the minute mark, and finishing 9th. Noah Waak finished 14th, to join Luna-Zetina in the 'B' final. The Slicers closed out the evening with a second place finish in the 400 Freestyle Relay with: Retseck, Garay, Luna-Zetina and Quadlin. It was a season best swim, and they hope to improve the time during finals on Saturday. Our Sectional is one of the fastest in the State, and our boys more than held their own. The Coaches and I can't wait to see what we can do on Saturday. Always proud. Go Slicers! Coach Brahim