Lanah Metz swims in the girls 200-yard breaststroke relay (KEIZERTIMES/Matt Rawlings).
The McNary swim team kicked off their season on Thursday, Dec. 5 by competing in the Salem-Keizer relays at the Kroc Center.
While this meet was treated as an exhibition, McNary head coach Casey Lewin appreciated that the event helped ease his kids back into competition mode.
“I liked the relay meet. It’s a low-key and relaxed way to get back into racing. I thought the kids enjoyed it as well,” Lewin said.
Both the boys and girls Celtic teams experienced their most success in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as McNary swept the event on each side.
The girls 200-free team of Paris Boyd, Alex Beard, Bella Beard and Alyssa Garvey touched the line at the 1:51.01 mark while the boys team of Kaleb Bergh-Graven, Gavin Gaperini, Bryce Junker and Kyle Hooper finished the event in 1:45.64.
The McNary girls ended up with six second place finishes, while the boys were runners-up in three races.
“It’s exciting to see relays swimming fast to begin the season. We still have work to do, and need to be faster, but with where we are at in the season I feel like we are in a good place. We will continue to improve,” Lewin said.
But even though Lewin felt good about his team’s outing, he knows the Celtics will face some stiff competition to face during the dual season.
“I thought that West (Salem) and South (Salem) looked strong at the meet. It will be exciting racing them in the upcoming weeks. The girls 200 medley from McKay swam well too,” Lewin said.
McNary’s first dual meet will be on Thursday, Dec. 19 at 4:30 p.m. against West Salem.