LYNN — Friday morning going into the meet against Northeast Metro, Tech head coach John Hogan thought he had his captain, Alberto Gerado, for the meet. A few hours later, Gerado was ruled out with an illness which left Hogan, assistant coach Richard Bucko, and diving coach Don McKenney scrambling to redo their lineup with multiple kids out.
Being short-handed, Hogan turned to his assistant Bucko for advice on who to sub in. The Tigers won 94-78 against Northeast Metro with swimmers up and down the roster contributing.
“Those kids stepped up and scored a few points for us to win comfortably,” Hogan said.
The Tigers (3-0-1) are currently undefeated as their prior races have all come down to the final relay. Hogan was content on Friday, but never satisfied.
“We just need more swimmers to step up,” Hogan said. “I told them it’s going to be a tough meet today. Anytime you are undefeated, everyone is going to try and be the first team to beat you.”
That is exactly what the Tigers did. In the first event, the 200-yard medley relay, the Tigers took first and third place. Zakaria Bidoudane, Chris Rodriguez, Vincent Marino, and Mike Monbleau finished their race with a time of 2:23.18 – a full second more than Northeast Metro.
Swimmers Jazlene Ledesma, Kailey Brown, Isabella Celona, and Joey Klinker scored points, finishing third in the same race.
Once the Tigers led, they didn’t look back. In the following event, the 200-yard freestyle, the Tigers took home first, second and third place. Colin Donovan finished first with a 2:44.18, Addisyn Brown came in second with a 2:49.18, and Rashaud Newhall took home third place with a 2:51.65.
[Addisyn] Brown was one of the many swimmers to step up on Friday night. Usually Brown competes in the diving competition, but this time the Tigers needed her to compete in a race she has not competed in this season.
“Addisyn stepped up today,” Hogan said. “She’s only a freshman and only just started to swim last year.”
Brown also placed second in the 500-yard freestyle, beating her previous best time by more than 15 seconds.
Another swimmer who stepped up in an event they hadn’t competed in this year was Ledesma. She was put on the diving team and scored points for the Tigers after learning a few dives just the day before.
“She did a good job stepping up and coming in second in diving,” Hogan said.
Bidoudane, Donovan, and Marino all had four first-place finishes on the day. Hogan said he was happy with the races and saw “much improvement” from his team.
