The Bruins battled 43 other schools, tying for 26th place with Central High School in Springfield, with 21 points, as Rockhurst went on to take the gold medal.
Four swimmers – Alex Tschopp, Michael Rhodenbaugh, Harry Stanton and Matt Hefner got through Friday night’s preliminary round to reach the finals, all making it to the race’s final day.
RBHS competed in three events today with the highest placing coming from Tschopp, who finished in sixth place in the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53 seconds flat.
In the other two final events the team finished 15th in the 200 yard medley relay at 1:42.46 seconds, and Harry Stanton placed 16th in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1 minute and 3.68 seconds.
“We swam well today,” Rhodenbaugh said, “not quite as fast as we wanted, but still fast.”
The season was filled with consistent improvement and personal best times as the swimming and diving team got better each and every week. Times improved across the board for all swimmers with an impressive nine total swimmers qualifying for the state preliminary meet. While they didn’t win in the state championship, the season was still a success as swimmers and divers brought their A-game each week, placing highly in many individual and team events throughout the year. Some especially successful events include the 100-yard butterfly where Tschopp routinely ranked near the top and the 200 medley relay, a four-man event that RBHS consistently excelled in.
As focus turns to the off-season and eventually next season for underclassmen, the team will not forget the fun, exciting swimming and diving season of 2012 or the bond between teammates that formed along the way.
“We had a very successful season this year with a lot of people consistently going their best times,” Rhodenbaugh said. “It’s really sad that the season is now over because it feels like our team has become a family.”
By Sam Mitchell
