Boys Swimming: Munster hopes to preserve history

Updated: January 23, 2012 9:14PM

Most years, the conference and sectional meets haven’t been the major focus for Munster’s boys swimming team.

The Seahorses usually have their sights set on bigger prizes, such as individual medals and team trophies at state. That’s not the case this season, as Munster adjusts to the departure after last season of senior mainstays such as Kevin Behrens, Dillon Thompson and Frank Rapin.

There’s still talent in the Seahorses’ program, but the primary goal is to defend the titles Munster has owned for years: conference and sectional champ.

That’s the motivation for a senior class that features guys such as Cole Briggs, Eric Dobis and Kyle Ruckert and a promising freshman group led by Wilson Beckman. Munster owns a state-record 41 sectional titles, including every one since 1986.

“We want a lot of the alumni to look up to us,” Dobis said. “We also want to make sure that we’re not the class that loses sectionals. We do want to keep that 27-year consecutive streak going.”

“Our goals are to win conference and win sectional, go 1-2 in a couple events,” Briggs said.

The Seahorses will face some serious competition both in the Northwest Crossroads meet on Jan. 28 and in the sectional on Feb. 16 and 18, both of which they will host. Highland, led by state-meet veterans Adam Johnston, Stephen Castillo and Matt Dyer, has its best team in years and has its sights set on ending its league and sectional title droughts. Crown Point and Lake Central also should be in the title mix at the sectional.

To hold off those challenges, Munster will be looking for big meets from Dobis and Briggs, among others. Coach Matt Pavlovich believes they can rise to the challenge.

“He’s been doing a good job,” Pavlovich said of Briggs, who specializes in the 200- and 500-yard freestyle races and has been swimming on Munster’s top relay teams. “He’s a big, strong kid. He’s ahead of where was at last year.”

While Briggs has been scoring bigger points in the distance races, the events are nothing new for him. It’s just that he’s played a more prominent role there, as has Ruckert, with Rapin gone.

Dobis, on the other hand, has been able to settle in as a 100 butterfly specialist and relay mainstay after serving as a utility guy in the past.

“He’s been a guy we’ve moved around a lot because of the depth we’ve had on our boys team,” Pavlovich said. “He’s really versatile.”

Dobis, who will swim at Carthage College in Wisconsin next season, welcomes his increasingly prominent role.

“It’s a better motivator for me to swim at the meets knowing that more rides on my shoulders than it has in previous years.”

Briggs also understands what comes with the territory when you swim for the Seahorses.

“We appreciate the fact that there’s some high expectations, but it’s pretty tough,” he said. “We like everybody looking at us like, ‘Oh, that’s Munster, that’s Title Town right there. If you want to see some good swimmers, go to Munster.’”

The goal in the next month is to live up to that reputation.

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