Men’s swim holds 1st home meet in 4 years

Arianna Peper
News/Opinion Editor

Men’s swim and dive held its first home match in four years on Aug. 29, at Webster University against Rockwood Summit.

For the past few years, the team has been without a home meet because Webster University’s pool has been in use by St. John Vianney High School. As a result, Webster’s team has used different pools over the past few years for their meets, and it wasn’t until last year that they were able to use Webster’s pool for morning practices.

Evyn Spencer, who is going on her fourth year as the men’s swim coach, and athletics director Jerry Collins, were able to get in contact with Vianney and schedule home meets at Webster University while Vianney’s team is away.

Collins said, “Even though the past few years have been different for the swim team after COVID hit, I really appreciate their flexibility and admire their dedication.”

Spencer also had not had a home meet while at coaching at Webster until this year. She said without a home pool, the team’s swimmers didn’t have as much opportunity for their friends and family to come and watch, since they were always at away meets.

Senior Ryan Kleitsch, who has been on the team for four years, said without a home pool, not only had traveling been annoying, but the team didn’t have a place of its own to defend. He also stated he thinks having a home pool allows the team to have more of a sense of togetherness.

Spencer said, “Having a home meet is so important as it gives the team a sense of ownership, a place of their own to defend. They get to race in the pool they train in every day, which gives them an advantage, and it is so fun to have a home pool for the support of family and friends who get to come watch.”

Senior Calum Shank, who’s been on the team for four years, said having a home pool has not only brought the team closer together and made practices more accessible, but it has also given the team a pool to defend.

Although it wasn’t just defending a pool that made a difference for the team– it was having a place to call home.

Shank said, “Having a home meet means having a home in general. Not only is it good for team chemistry, it’s good for the whole high school sports experience. The seniors on this team haven’t gotten this opportunity yet, so it’s awesome to finally call somewhere home.”

Arianna Peper–News/Opinion Editor This will be  Arianna Peper’s first  year on ECHO staff. She made several contributions while taking journalism class her freshman year.

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