Boys Swimming: Shepard exacts revenge on Reavis

Updated: December 15, 2011 7:54PM

Shepard’s Nate Calder knows a lot can happen between mid-December and an eventual rematch with Reavis in February.

For now though, exacting some revenge sure feels good.

Hosting the South Suburban Red meet last February, Shepard was caught late and finished second to Reavis. In a South Suburban Red dual Thursday, the host Astros cruised to a 119-66 win.

“Today was huge because we wanted this meet so bad, and we went out and took it,” Calder said. “We were expecting to win conference (last year) so we’ve been working much harder. We wanted this meet, and we want the conference.”

Calder helped lead the Astros with wins in the 200-yard freestyle (1:59.60) and 500-yard freestyle (5:29.52) while also swimming on the first place 200-yard medley relay (1:56.49) and the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:38.56) teams.

Other winners for Shepard included Bobby Marion in the 50-yard freestyle (:24.39), diver Dan Taylor (191.70 points), Steve Martinez in the 100-yard freestyle (:54.12), and David Ramirez in the 100-yard backstroke (1:04.47).

The win was the third dual meet victory for the Astros including wins over Evergreen Park and Richards.

“(The wins) are definitely showing us that the work we’re putting in at practice is paying off,” Calder said. “We’re 3-0, we’re doing good, and we’re hoping for the best.”

Winners for Reavis included Sebastian Mysliwiec in the 200-yard individual medley (2:18.07) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:11.40) and Matt Tylka in the 100-yard butterfly (1:03.42).

With a small team, Reavis coach Frank Keller is still looking for the right pieces to the puzzle.

“We’re looking for improvement in technique and to swim clean races,” Keller said. “This is a growth stage really. We’ve got a good group of guys who are hard workers, and these early duals are all pushing toward championship meet experience.”

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