Varsity swimmer Jake Boettcher, Div. 375, reaches toward the finish at the Feb. 7 meet.
By Victoria Figueroa
As students walk into Lane the unnaturally bleached hair of some boys doesn’t go unnoticed. This can only mean one thing: It’s nearing the end of the Boys Swimming and Diving season.
The end of the swimming season means more pressure for the Varsity Boys Swim Team, which has not won a City title since 2009. They lost to Whitney Young in 2010 and 2011.
And it was to Whitney Young that Lane suffered its first loss of the season on Feb. 2. Still, the team believes it can rise to the occasion by season’s end and challenge for the City title.
In a final warm-up before City, the team soundly defeated Latin School of Chicago 88-68 on Senior Night, Tuesday, Feb. 7.
According to team captain Matthew Gullickson, Div. 365, Lane has an advantage over most other teams.
“We have a lot of depth that other teams don’t,” Gullickson said. “We may not have the fastest swimmer in an event, but we’re able to take second, third, and fourth.”
Team members have to continue to improve their times if they want to keep their spot in the lineup since they are also competing against each other to represent Lane at City and Sectionals.
“We compete for varsity spots,” said Giovanni Palacios, Div. 359, “so whoever is performing better gets the City spot.”
Coach Rummelhoff makes sure his boys are focused at meets, prohibiting the use of their iPods, or cell phones. They cannot fall asleep, go up into the stands to socialize, and above all they must avoid being disqualified from their given event. If they do not conform to any of these rules, there are consequences.
“[Coach Rummelhoff] gives us what he calls ‘motivational workouts’,” Palacios said. “[They’re] motivational in that you have to be motivated to not want to do this.”
The workouts not only test the boys physically but also mentally. The exercises are designed so that their bodies can do it, but just barely. So it becomes a test of mental toughness to finish. If they fail, they have to start over until they do it correctly.
Team members hope all the practices and workouts will not be in vain.
The Swim Team is one of the few sports at Lane that requires both before-school and after-school practice. The swimmers practice from 6:00 to 7:30 in the morning. They alternate days of practicing in the pool and “land exercises” that can vary from sprints to weightlifting. Every day after school they practice in the pool from 3:15 to 5:30.
“You put so much effort and work into the season, when it finally pays off it’s a really good feeling,” Gullickson said.
The team goes to Sectionals Feb. 18 where they hope to win and qualify for the State competition.
