CHS finishes third in 4 out of 10 relays
 

It was a day for the underclassmen.

“I thought the way our new swimmers competed was a bright spot,” said head coach Braden McBride.

The Carthage Tigers boys’ swim team kicked off the 2008 swim season Tuesday at the Springfield Relays.

“This meet is always a good one to introduce new swimmers to the sport,” McBride said. The Tigers, who feature four freshmen and nine sophomores, didn’t have many problems against a sound field of schools.

The Tigers competed against Kickapoo (Springfield), Webb City, Ozark, Hillcrest (Springfield), Glendale (Springfield), Smith Cotton, Marshfield, Lamar, Nixa, Greenwood, Springfield Central and Parkview (Springfield).

The Tigers finished in the top three in four out of 10 relays.

“I was very pleased with the way our underclassmen performed,” said McBride. “Brandon Hazlett, a sophomore, set a personal record in the 200 (yard relay).”

James Schrader, A.J. Dolon, Jeff Burgin and Levi Joyce — competing in the 400-yard medley relay — kicked off the season by finishing fifth overall with a time of 5:09.00.

In the 200-backstroke relay, Logan Kunard, Joyce, Mark Burgin and Schrader finished in the top three with a third-place finish.

Nathan Loveall, Matt Roy and Hazlett cracked the top three in the 600-freestyle relay. The quartet finished third overall with a time of 7:12.77.

Jeff Burgin, Margarito Soto, Hazlett and Loveall compiled the Tigers’ best finished of the day with a second-place finish in the 200-butterfly relay. Carthage finished with a time of 2:01.53.

In the 200-breaststroke relay, Dolon, Soto, Roy and Nathan Batchelor took third with a time of 2:28.94.

The Tigers will be back in action at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at home. Carthage will host Webb City, Ozark, Parkview and Central at the Carthage Fair Acres Family YMCA.