'I've lost my voice so many times': Noise never stops at Wayland's swim and dive meets
WAYLAND – The din of rush hour traffic is no match for the bubble’s echoes. A meet is happening. No need for a sign, however. Just listen.
Pedestrians on Old Connecticut Path know when Wayland High swims. The hollers and hoots nearly drown out the constant roar of vehicles whizzing by.
Walk inside Wayland Community Pool and prepare for sensory overload, a crowd too large for the bleachers and swimmers literally splashing below banners that reveal more than 50 years of high-level history.
The noise only stops in the moment when swimmers take their mark. The starting buzzer and ensuing splash start the cacophony all over again.
“I’ve lost my voice so many times at meets,” said Wayland senior Katie Pralle, “because I’m just yelling so hard for everyone.”
“We love swimming here,” said coach Mike Foley. “It’s LOUD.”
The Warriors, who have girls state championships that date to 1974, kept their unbeaten record intact with Dual County League victories over Lincoln-Sudbury on Wednesday evening. The boys won 93-85; the girls 95-89.
The boys have not won all their meets, however, settling for a tie with neighboring power Weston in December – a first for the programs who have met yearly since ‘72.
Wayland’s combined programs include 73 swimmers this winter, many of whom began swimming in the town’s youth league nearly a decade ago. Current senior Zach Rainville was once a wide-eyed member of the Jr. Warriors as an elementary school student.
Rainville on Wednesday was part of the winning 200 free relay team along with Alex Lu, Luke Kronke and Peter Morris and the victorious 400 free foursome with Luke Pyhtila, Peter Morris and Aidan Huang. Rainville remembered the days when his youth swim practice followed a varsity meet. When he entered ninth grade, the stakes grew.
“When you get to high school, you hear about how hard it is,” he said.
“We lean on that a lot,” said Foley, referring to how many of his swimmers currently coach at the youth level. “Like, hey, ‘this is the future; remember when you were 10 and you were watching these guys swim. You need to be that person now.’”
Alex Lu paces Wayland swim and dive vs. Lincoln-Sudbury
Lu, a sophomore, scored big points for Wayland against L-S, winning the 100 breaststroke and 50 freestyle. He was also part of two winning relays. The visiting Warriors of L-S kept the meet close thanks to double wins from Jackson Grant (200 free, 100 back), Lorelei Hogan (100 back, 100 free) and Bella Newbern (200 free, 500 free).
Wayland swept the 1-meter diving competition behind wins from Julia Sun and Justin McLeod.
The noise was constant throughout the meet.
“That helps our kids get up and swim faster,” said Foley, Wayland’s coach since 2000 and a member of Massachusetts High School Swimming Coaches Hall of Fame. “They feel the emotion coming off the walls. It helps the other teams, too. There’s a little bit of that home-field advantage because of all the black and orange everywhere.
“Kids who I’ve known who are now coaching that swam at Acton-(Boxborough) or at Weston, they've expressed that this pool has a different environment for sure. When we go to Weston (Foley’s alma mater), we have to stay focused. There’s a lot going on (championship banners) on the walls.”
Wayland has its own collection of banners. All a backstroker has to do is look up – Wayland's hang above the pool.
“Everyone is pushing hard to be the 'next year' on those banners,” said Pralle, whose older brother, Lucas, swam for Wayland. “It’s motivating to have your own year up there. We lift everyone up, no matter their skill level. Every person counts on the team.”
Lincoln-Sudbury coach Julie Nocka welcomes the competition that Wayland provides.
“They usually win,” she said, “but we know we’re going to get some fast swimming and we’re happy to be here for it."
Pralle had a quick – and appropriate – response for what she looks forward to most when a home meet is on the schedule.
“The energy.”
Rainville chose a financial analogy when describing the year-round effort that goes into the sport. Work he hopes to cash into another banner.
“Each practice, you’re putting more money in the bank,” he said, “and at the end, you deposit it all out and you get all these great times.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Noise never stops at Wayland's swim and dive meets
