Swim and dive to take on The Colony in dual meet

Drew Gager and Benjamin Nopper • December 13, 2018

Junior Jesse Mendez approaches the wall.

Lovejoy swim and dive is scheduled for a dual meet against the Colony tonight at 6 p.m. The meet will be held at LISD Eastside Aquatics Center.

Head swim coach Matt Franks said the upcoming meet will be a key indicator for the team’s composition moving forward.

“Tonight’s meet will help Coach Rieff and I get a much better idea of what our lineup will look like come district championship, which is really what our dual meet season is all about,” Franks said.

Franks added that the team is emphasizing specific fundamentals in tonight’s meet.

“We’ve been talking a lot about getting better into and off the walls, and using underwater dolphin kicks to help us go faster while swimming less,” Franks said. “That will be one of the things we are looking for.”

The Leopards were without their top three swimmers last weekend. But Franks said he was still confident in his team going into the 5A TISCA meet and still had swimmers shine at the meet.

“With our top three swimmers at Junior Nationals last weekend, we still had plenty of firepower going into 5A TISCA,” Franks said. “The girls did really well. Ana Laura Faoro, our stud diver, came in third, breaking the school record for 11-dives. The girls swam really well, qualifying two relays and five individual swims for finals on Saturday finishing 12th overall. The boys qualified a relay and five individual swims to finals on their way to a 19th place finish. Given the format of the meet and the fact that we were not at full strength, I think we performed really well.”

Senior swimmer James Vaughn expressed excitement at the opportunity to compete in tonight’s meet.

“Having a dual meet against The Colony is different, just because it goes by faster and every swim counts and every place counts in order for us to win,” Vaughn said. “The energy is so much more exciting and everyone is up and cheering, and it’s a lot more fun.”

About the Contributors

Drew Gager, Staff Writer

During his first year with The Red Ledger, sophomore Drew Gager will contribute as a staff writer. His hobbies include golfing and playing video games. He loves to watch football and wants to be a NFL analyst when he grows up. He joined The Red Ledger staff so he could pursue his dreams to be on ESPN and talk about football all day long.. His favorite movie is “Hateful Eight” and he doesn’t have a favorite actor because he believes Samuel L. Jackson, Will Smith, and Denzel Washington are all the best actors of all time. He plans on going to Oklahoma University to major in journalism. After Drew has made five hundred billion dollars doing something (to be determined), he will spend it all on junk food. Drew is a part of a big family at home. He has two sisters and one brother at home, and he knows being a part of The Red Ledger family will be a great experience.

Benjamin Nopper, Section Editor

After joining staff and becoming an editor his sophomore year, Benjamin Nopper is enthusiastic to spend his senior year in the newsroom he considers to be his home away from home. Benjamin walked into room E103 two years ago feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of the unknown‒writing for an award-winning publication without much previous experience. Hundreds of articles and dozens of close relationships later, he now understands that writing enables an individual to have a meaningful impact in his community. A disciple of his former boss, Nick Smith, Nopper retains his position as sports editor for the third consecutive year while also contributing as an opinion writer. However, if it were up to him, he would run his own satire department. Outside of the newsroom, Nopper plays baseball and serves as an FCA leader. Nopper is also a member of Student Council, NHS and Spanish Club. He enjoys embarking adventures with his three dogs, spending afternoons on the golf course, and feeding his unhealthy coffee obsession. Nopper also loves to watch Impractical Jokers, the show that admittedly inspires some of his lighthearted interactions with his friends. Upon graduating, Nopper intends to study business and eventually attend law school.

Cooper Meldrum, Photographer

Senior Cooper Meldrum is now in his second and final year with The Red Ledger where he will be a photographer. Outside of school, his hobbies include lacrosse and just about any other sport around. He loves to be active in the outdoors and never sits around doing nothing. But, when he does sit around doing nothing, he likes to watch movies. One of his all time favorites is “Top Gun.” He is excited to finish his High School career in in TRL.