The Jr. Bills set sail again on three separate occasions to crush their MCC opponents on all levels this past weekend in what was the end of the season for many swimmers.

The weekend started off strong with Friday’s final regular season meet for the varsity squad, the MICDS Invitational, in which St. Louis U. High sparred with the likes of De Smet, John Burroughs, Vianney, and seven other area schools. The Bills came in third, barely outscoring Vianney 303-302. However, the meet had not seen the full power of SLUH’s lineup, since it served as a chance for some of the team’s less experienced swimmers to take the big stage while the rest prepared fervently for the next day’s MCC tournament.

Nevertheless, the Jr. Bills came in flaming hot, ready to conquer the final meet for those who couldn’t have a spot in the MCC lineup. As a whole, the meet’s 14 swimmers shaved off a combined total 43.09 seconds from their previous best times. Eighty-eight percent of all the races that SLUH boys swam resulted in new personal records.

“It was really good (to see),” said head coach Lindsey Ehret. “The hard work definitely paid off.”

Additionally, junior Mattie Peretz earned an almost certain state-qualifying time in the 100-yard butterfly, dropping 1.57 seconds to go 54.85. Juniors Henry Molner (24.53) and Tommy Riley (23.05) posted speedy new times in the fast-paced 50 free, while breaststrokers sophomore Andrew Hunt and freshman Nick Zimmerman took a surprising leap up the ranks, each going over 5 seconds faster in the 100 breast. 

“I did really well,” said Zimmerman. “It’s the best I've done the whole season.”

 After this early success, the Jr. Bills geared up again for an even bigger day on Saturday—the Junior Varsity swimmers began the day bright and early in the JV MCC tournament, while Varsity closed it off with the preliminary round of their own MCCs in the evening.  

JV won the meet with a whopping 280 points, continuing SLUH’s long-running streak of Junior Varsity MCC wins. The highly anticipated meet, only the second JV swim meet of the season, proved successful as SLUH dominated the competition. 

“It was really good to see the guys improve,” commented Ehret. “It's nice to see them compete again after such a long time not competing … (and) how they've gotten stronger and improved in their technique and their strokes.”

Freshman Jack Brawer was one of the many swimmers who improved drastically from the beginning of the season, with an astounding two victories on Saturday in both the 100 butterfly and the brutal 200 IM. 

“I felt really good (and) I felt really proud of myself. I'm thankful for all my teammates (that) helped me get here,” said Brawer.

Sophomore Luke Fesler also found great success with his 100 breastroke, taking the first place medal with a time of 1:15.41, though he attributes his success to his teammates cheering him on as he swam and providing the spirit he needed to win. 

“It was a big step up from the last meet … we definitely showed more heart and passion than the other teams,” added Fesler. 

JV coach Rob Hill was thrilled with the results of the JV meet, and thought that the team's brotherhood and relationships over the season provided a great environment to improve over the months and reach this success.

“Our team's energy put our competition to shame,” said Hill. “We were by far the loudest team that cheered for every heat, and I could see the team feeding off that energy.”

Later that day, the varsity machine took their own turn in the driver’s seat, continuing to work their ever-successful algorithm in the MCC prelims. The Jr. Bills were able to crank out new best times across the board and qualify all twenty two swimmers for Sunday’s finals.

“I think we went faster on Saturday,” said Ehret. “I think the anticipation of the meet …contributed to the excitement there.”

While many of SLUH’s racers conserved their energy for the next day’s finals, sophomore Greyson Mueller had a different mindset as he prepped nervously for the lengthy 500 free. Diving into the water, he only had one thing on his mind: beat Trey Cunneen.

Cunneen, a Chaminade junior, has been the most foreboding rival of Mueller and his fellow distance swimmers ever since he jumped into the high school swimming scene. However, in the lane immediately next to Cunneen, Mueller determinedly sprinted through the 20-lap 500 free. As he coasted into the wall, his performance did not disappoint—he had beaten the Chaminade golden boy with a time of 4:50.81, a 5.62 second improvement. Mueller’s teammates crowded around him, congratulating him on this massive victory.

“It was an exhilarating race,” said Mueller. “My motivation was to beat Cunnen.”

“I'm glad he did it,” added Ehret. “I wish he was able to do it again at finals, but it was good to have some rivalry fuel his performance.”

The finals on Sunday were equally intense, as the Jr. Bills faced some of the best Catholic school swimmers in the region in this climactic showdown. SLUH won the championship with a shocking 418 points—144 more than their closest runner-ups, the Chaminade Red Devils.

Even more incredible, however, was the fact that SLUH only won one event individually; they were bested by Chaminade and CBC all-stars in the other 11. Nevertheless, SLUH’s massive ranks of swimmers filling the lineup and racking up points carried this astounding victory. 

“It doesn’t matter (that Chaminade placed first in most events), which is awesome,” said Ehret. “You can still win without winning.”

The one event SLUH did come victorious in, however, was a major victory. In the 100 backstroke, sophomores Ben Chumley (53.37) and Charlie Hill (56.83) took first and second place medals with breathtaking times.

Additionally, SLUH’s breaststrokers continued to shine. Senior Joe Zarrili, while still hopeful for a possible spot at state, closed off his season with a 1:04.93 in the 100 breaststroke, shaving off another two seconds from his previous best time. 

“It’s four years in the making,” explained Ehret. “It’s just a combination of him being strong enough, getting his technique down, and really, really trying hard. So it was really well deserved.”

Sophomore Evan Zimmerman came in with a breathtaking time of 1:02.18 in his 100 breastroke, shaving off that vital extra 1.29 from his prelims time and placing second.

“I exceeded my expectations,” explained Evan Zimmerman. “I didn’t think I’d do as well as I did.”

However, he added, there’s nowhere else to look now but up: to state. Zimmerman and 14 others are currently confirmed to swim in the MSHSAA Missouri State Prelims on Nov. 10, each hoping to qualify in the top 16 of their event to make it to the Nov. 11 finals.