Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice took the Oakland County title by over 100 points last weekend, but the meet will be best remembered for one race: the 500.
Not usually the marquee event at a swim meet, Birmingham Seaholm junior Morgan Priestley and Lake Orion senior Ricky Forrest decided to change that.
After Priestley took the title in the 200-freestyle by over four seconds, Forrest and Dragons Coach Paul Fairman cooked up a different strategy for the longer race.
Priestley held the lead for the first half of the race before Forrest made his move.
‘He knew I was going to take it out fast and I knew that he was going to come back hard,? Priestley said.
Forrest built a lead of nearly two seconds as they headed to the final 100-yards, and led by over a second with 50-yards to go.
That’s when Priestley found another gear, swimming the final 50-yards in 25.22 and cruising to a nearly two second win.
‘I was pleased with it,? Forrest said of his efforts. His time of 4:37.42 may have been second to Priestley, but both swimmers had broken the pool record.
‘I made my move,? he said. ‘The only thing I think I might have done differently would’ve been to maybe put a little bit more pressure on him.?
‘But, other than that, it was a good race,? Forrest added. ‘He’s a great swimmer and I wish him the best of luck.?
Priestley said he managed to keep Forrest in his sights and awed the crowd with his move in the final 50-yards.
‘At that point I just told myself to hang on, because there was no way I was losing this race,? Priestley said.
‘That’s a big part of it,? he added. ‘Swimming is more mental than physical. I just dug deep.?
The pair, who routed the field by nearly five seconds, shared a hug after it was over.
‘Something like that brought out the best in both of us,? Forrest said.
Fairman agreed and said the experience should help Forrest prepare for the Division 1 state meet.
‘Every experience a swimmer goes through can be a bonus,? Fairman said. ‘Ricky learned what he needs to do to have a chance against those with faster top end speed, make sure they don’t have another gear to go to on the last 50, by keeping the pace even higher in the middle of the race.?
Forrest and Priestley will not race against one another this season, as Seaholm competes in Division 2.
‘I hope both of us do well at states,? Forrest said.
The meet also brought out a strong performance from Dragon diver Brandon Figurski, whose score of 440.10 was over 78 points better than the nearest competition.
‘Brandon is an exceptional diver,? Fairman said. ‘His list is way more challenging than other diver, and his list from last season.
‘He handles pressure very well, from other competitors and from doing a tougher list,? the coach added.
The diving event was held on Friday night.
‘The event ran very smoothly,? Fairman said. ‘Having diving on Friday was good in two ways: All divers were able to do an entire list, very good this time of year, and the swimming finals were one hour shorter.?
Forrest and Figurski weren’t the only team members to shine at the meet.
‘The rest of my kids swam their fastest time on Saturday,? Fairman said. ‘They are really starting to develop nicely. By next year, with the addition of the incoming freshman, we should have a pretty good group for the next phase of our rebuilding cycle.?
The team finished 13th, with 61 points.