The Wilmington College men's swimming team won eight of 11 events in overwhelming visiting Defiance College by a 123-61 margin Saturday (Oct. 19).
Senior Mikey Spraul was part a trio of those victories as he won the 100-meter backstroke (1:01.13) and swam the backstroke segment of the winning 400-meter medley relay and the anchor leg of the victorious 400-meter freestyle relay.
For the swimmers, winning by such a decisive margin provides warranted confidence, but also stresses the need to continue working hard.
Coach Trip Breen expressed a qualified level of satisfaction with the team's effort.
"I expect great racing and a great effort, and we got mostly that," he said, noting they need to improve in putting in complete performances. "We have to fight through fatigue and finish our races with energy.
"The season is relatively new and that takes time to develop," he added. "We will continue to focus on that more in practice."
However, Breen held nothing back in praising his team in other key aspects of the sport.
"I want to see great sportsmanship and a great team atmosphere — they over-delivered on both of those today," he said.
The name Spraul reverberated throughout the natatorium as Michael's younger brothers, freshmen Erik and David, each won events. Erik took the 100-meter butterfly (1:02.96) and David won the 400-meter freestyle race (4:34.13). Their triplet sister, Elyse, captured a second place and was a member of a winning women's relay team.
Joining Mikey Spraul on the winning 400-meter medley relay team (4:24.06) were Ryan Macella, Erik Spraul and David Hawk and on the 400-meter freestyle relay (3:40.41) were Hawk, Alex Fout and Jason Prible.
Mason Harris won the 800-meter freestyle (9:24.55) and Fout placed first in the 50-meter freestyle (25:52). Corbin Hellwarth eclipsed his nearest competitor by more than six seconds in winning the 100-meter breaststroke.
With a great start to the season in their pockets, Breen is looking for more of the same as they work on improving throughout these early season meets.
Also, he expects to see the newest members of the team — six freshman swimmers — continue to make an impact.
"I think all the freshmen we have are a great match for the returning swimmers. Our returning swimmers have been very welcoming," he said. "Some freshmen were nervous in their first collegiate swim meet, but as they gain experience and confidence, those results will continue to improve.
"The work ethic this entire team has shown so far is going to provide results," he said.
Wilmington visits Baldwin-Wallace next Saturday.