The LHS Men’s swim team plans on making a big roar September 27. This will be the first year that the men’s swim team travels to Columbia, Missouri to participate in the COMO Invitational swim meet. The meet is held at the Mizzou Aquatic Center where the boys will compete against schools from St. Louis, Columbia, Blue Springs and Kansas City. Fellow competitors, Liberty North High School has competed at COMO in the past, so LHS plans to make a big splash.

Starting at six in the morning, the boys will take a two-hour bus ride to Columbia, Missouri. It’s always interesting,” Head coach Chris Murphy said.

“There’s usually a lot of singing involved,” freshman Alex Lonsdale said.

From there, the preliminary rounds begin at 10 a.m. The boys who made the top 24 times in an event will advance onto finals.

“This season, everyone has to step up and contribute,” Murphy said. “We only have 17 swimmers and two divers which is down a bit from last year. With such a small number, everyone has to chip in for us to be successful. At COMO, I’m hoping to get as many to make finals (top 24) as possible. I’m also hoping to get some more state cuts at the meet since it is such a great pool. I am excited for the meet since we have not been to MU in quite a few years.”

The excitement among the swim team grows as the meet comes closer.

“I am looking forward to going down there for the first time,” junior Blaine Rohlfs said. “Murphy is very particular about what he wants and knows how to make us do what he wants, so I think we’ll be ready when we compete with a bunch of other teams.”

The boys have been training hard to drop time at COMO.

“I’m looking to do a lot better on my 500 free,” junior Andrew Kitchen said. “I want to go at least a 5:30, and break two minutes on my 200 free.”

So far, four members of the LHS boys’ swim team have qualified for state. “Right now we have four state qualifiers in the relay,” Coach Murphy said. “senior Tim Gibson, senior Michael Coday, junior Alex Goerke, and junior Joe Saitta.”

In addition to the COMO meet, the boys have been training hard for every one of their upcoming meets.

“I am practicing harder than I did last year, by far,” Junior Andrew Kitchen said.

Senior Tim Gibson agrees.

“We are just working up [to our meets] with the intensity of our practices, that way when we get into the meet, we are fully ready,” Gibson said.

As the season progresses, the boys become very close.

“I like all the funny kids we have on the team,” Kitchen said. “I think swimmers are closer than any other team because we spend a lot of time on the bus together, and we have pasta dinners where we can talk to each other.”

Sophomore Jonathon Weinke said his coach and his teammates motivated him the most during a meet.

“[My teammates] just love to support and influence others with positive encouragement,” Weinke said. “I am looking forward to the fun and exciting time I will be having with my fellow teammates [at COMO].”