As loud as it was at a pool empty of fans, Bryce Miller said he didn’t hear his teammates screaming.
He and the rest of the quartet on the 400-yard freestyle relay team just swam on as fast as they could.
The close-call finale event with Pedro Cerino powering away on the last leg and Miller metaphorically passing him the baton from the third leg meant victory over Columbus East.
Seymour bested the visiting Olympians 95-88 in a suspenseful meet that for the third year in a row came down to the last event.
“This meet has always come down to that relay,” said Miller, a senior, who is used to the dramatics.
No spectators are permitted at Seymour home swim meets this season, but teammates are allowed to cheer. The girls had their own stiff challenge but also prevailed 100-84.
“Both schools did really well on both sides,” said Seymour swim coach Dave Boggs. “It was close all the way. We knew East would come after us. It was everybody on the relay, not one or two people.”
The other two legs on the boys relay were handled by sophomore Paul Montgomery and junior Clayton Greenawalt.
“The best races are too close to call,” Greenawalt said.
Miller had just about the same level of competition in the 100-yard free against East’s Chad Kelly. Miller won that individual event in 50.57 seconds, just ahead of Kelly’s 50.86.
“I was already tired because I’d just done the 50 (which he also won in 23.08),” Miller said. “But I got myself pumped. I was jumping around. I kept pushing. You just have to give everything you’ve got.”
Greenawalt, a junior, had a solid night, taking second in the 200 freestyle and second in the 500. His time of 5:25.90 was his fastest of the year.
Greenawalt and the other swimmers who have put in hard mileage are poised to begin tapering ahead of sectional events with the aim of posting much faster personal times.
“I’m excited how I did today,” Greenawalt said. “I dropped time in every event. All of the pieces are starting to come together (for the team). We’re starting to find our places.”
Cerino, as he has since the season began and he introduced himself to area competition as a freshman, had as good a night as any Owl, churning out that swift final relay leg, plus winning the 200 individual medley and placing second in the 100 butterfly.
Sophomore Katya Cox made a splash for the girls by capturing the 200 freestyle in 2:11.78 and zipping a 1:05.57 to win the 100 backstroke, too.
Cox pulled off those victories despite feeling weary going into the meet. She is planning to trim time as the bigger meets. She has a lofty goal in the backstroke long term.
“I want to get a minute in the backstroke,” she said. “Not this season, though.”
Samantha Jacobi, who is always chasing teammate Sandy Cerino, posted two solid results, taking third in the 50 in 27.87 seconds and clocking 1:00.72 for third in the 100.
Her aim is to break the one-minute barrier and keeps finishing an eye-blink shy with a best just .06 beyond the mark.
Jacobi is psyched up for tapering off on hard work and gearing up for sectional races.
“I’m feeling overly positive about sectionals,” she said. “Tapering does good things for me. I’m pushing myself to go crazy fast.”
At Seymour
Boys
Seymour 95, Columbus East 88
Seymour results
50-yard freestyle: 1) Bryce Miller 23.08; 3) Aaron Drake 24.65; 4) Eduardo Zarate 26.33
100 freestyle: 1) Miller 50.57; 3) Grant Smith 56.30; 5) Jadrix Zumhingst 59.75
200 freestyle: 2) Clayton Greenawalt 2:00.82; 4) Smith 2:03.29; 5) Larry Simons 2:03.39
500 freestyle: 2) Greenawalt 5:25.90; 3) Simons 5:26.18; 4) Caden Harriss 6:10.74
100 backstroke: 2) Paul Montgomery 1:07.04; 4) Drake 1:09.12; 5) Harriss 1:14.97
100 breaststroke: 2) Chaze Combs 1:18.01
100 butterfly: 2) Pedro Cerino 57.07; 3) Blake Stark 1:02.84; 4) Zarate 1:05.96
200 individual medley: 1) Cerino 2:07:05; 4) Montgomery 2:22.49
Diving: 2) Kaleb Brown 153.95
200 freestyle relay: 1) Seymour (Smith, Drake, Stark, Simons) 1:42.61; 3) Seymour (Zarate, Zumhingst, Combs, Brown) 1:51.69
400 freestyle relay: 1) Seymour (Montgomery, Greenawalt, Miller, Cerino) 3:25.84; 3) Seymour (Stark, Smith, Simons, Zumhingst) 3:57.17; 4) Seymour (Combs, Lucas Jablonski, Harris, Alex Landes) 4:30.01
200 medley relay: 2) Seymour (Montgomery, Greenawalt, Cerino, Miller) 2:02.34
Girls
Seymour 100, Columbus East 84
Seymour girls
200 medley relay: 1) Seymour (Katya Cox, Kirby Hill, Maren McClure, Sandy Cerino) 2:03.03
200 freestyle: 1) Cox 2:11.78, 4) Amelita Vasquez 2:17.19, 5) Trinity Walters 2:25.03
200 IM: 1) McClure 2:24.89, 2) Carmyn Wilson 2:37.05
50 freestyle: 2) Cerino 2:26.41, 3) Samantha Jacobi 27.87, 5) Isabell Knotts 30.24
Diving: 2) Alexandra Weaver 136.2, 3) Grace Lewis 128.7
100 butterfly: 2) McClure 1:04.16, 4) Walters 1:20.15
100 freestyle: 2) Cerino 57.75, 3) Jacobi 1:00.72
500 freestyle: 2) Vasquez 6:08.84
200 freestyle relay: 1) Seymour (Hunt, Wilson, Jacobi, Vasquez) 1:54.50
100 backstroke: 1) Cox 1:05.57, 5) Hunt 1:15.15
100 breaststroke: 2) Wilson 1:23.48, 4) Hill 1:26.04
400 freestyle relay: 1) Seymour (Jacobi, McClure, Cox, Cerino) 3:59.15