On a sunny Wednesday afternoon with temperatures reaching 90 degrees, more than 50 attendees were present at Orestimba High’s pool complex. In previous years, that turnout would be for use of the pool during a summer day.
However, they were in attendance for something else. The first swim meet after more than 15- year hiatus took place in the form of a dual meet between Orestimba and Hilmar High swim teams on Wednesday.
While some Warriors players were nervous about setting expectations, head coach John Labno said he told his team to not worry about recording specific times, but instead use it as motivation for future meets.
“I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. We’re just starting,’” he explained. “Don’t worry about what anybody is doing, [just] race against the clock.”
While the team didn’t have any top placement finishes, Orestimba recorded seven top-five finishes throughout five events.
In the boys 100-meter breaststroke, Warriors’ Diego Mendoza finished in second place with a time of 1 minute and 32.09 seconds. Following him was Emiliano Madrigal, who swam 1:59.44 for third place.
Mendoza finished in third place after he clocked in a time of 33.32 in the boys 50-meter freestyle event. Madrigal and Myles Costa came in fourth and sixth place, respectively.
In the girls 200-meter individual medley, Kyleigh Brace swam to fourth place at 3:37.70. Rylynn Graham swam a time of 1:58.44 to finish fourth in the girls 100-meter breaststroke. Lindsey Flanery concluded her stride at 1:54.87 in the girls 100-meter backstroke for a fourth-place finish.
As multiple attendees witnessed the next chapter of OHS’ athletics on Wednesday, Labno said it was “awesome” to have their presence around. The moment was also special for Labno, who revived the program with a roster of 17 swimmers, a headcount he initially thought was going to be around five players.
“When I started, I thought [the team] was gonna have three or four or five kids who really wanted to do this,” Labno said. “And the fact that we’ve got that many out, and they’re interested, and their families [and friends] came out and watched, it was great.”
Orestimba will travel to Ripon High for its next meet on Wednesday, March 25.
