Freedom’s boys 400 freestyle relay team of Micah Lawser, Griffin Kleinle, Cristian Urena, and Ben Rader were determined to make strides in the last event of the Patriots’ swim meet against Dieruff and took first place with a time of 3:57.10 on Dec. 10 at Freedom.

“We were aiming for under four minutes,” said Rader, the team’s anchor. “We were trying to get as low as possible and trying to take this relay to districts, so this was our first big chance to prove that this relay has what it takes to get to districts and possibly place. I’m glad I was able to close it out. That feeling of seeing the time at the end, turning around and listening to everyone scream is one of the best feelings you could ever have.”

Lawser, who won the 50 freestyle by .16 seconds against Dieruff’s Dylan Sebesta, led off in the relay.

“We had a great start of our relay against Northampton, so I was trying to replicate that, trying to replicate that energy, that hype, and we’re always looking for a district time and a personal best,” Lawser said. “I was kind of pacing off [Sebesta] a bit, just to see how fast he would go, and then last 50, I booked it.”

Kleinle, often listening to music on his headphones prior to an event, swam the second leg.

“It relaxes me, puts me in a good mindset, because without it, I get nervous and psych myself out, but it calms me down,” said Kleine, who pulled away for a nice lead. “It was really close from me going off the blocks, so I put my head down. I didn’t really care about how much it hurt in the moment. I just wanted that great benefit afterward and to see that time on the board.”

Urena was next in the water.

“Griffin had a pretty good lead, so I tried to maintain that lead, and I said to myself, I will get sub one minute, no matter how much it takes, no matter how much my legs burn. It doesn’t matter if my arms fall off, I’m gonna get sub one minute. Overall, I felt a lot faster. I was kicking harder. I was swinging my arms harder too,” Urena said. “This year, I’m actually putting effort to it, I’m committing more, and during the summer, I swam to help me get better. Swimming is a really grinding sport, and the more you work for it, the better you’re going to get.”

With Urena, Kleinle, and Lawser swimming under one minute, it was up to Rader to complete the foursome’s mission.

“Cristian and I haven’t broken a minute yet, and this race we did, which was a really big achievement for both of us,” said Rader, who slapped the water after touching the wall. “I have a history of my goggles falling off, so I made sure they were completely on there, and was thinking it was coming down to the last person. Everyone else did amazing.”

In team scores, the Patriot boys beat the Dieruff Huskies, 121-39.

Gabriel Maldonado, Aiden Schankel, Matthew Gould, and Antonios Tatakis won the 200 medley relay in 2:12.09 to open the boys meet.

Schankel went on to win the 200 free in 2:12.77, Kleinle won the 200 IM in 2:34.03 and the 500 free in 5:54.75, Lawser took first place in the 100 butterfly in 1:02.62, Tatakis won the 100 free in 1:01.40, and Asa Lawser was first in the 100 backstroke in 1:11.34.

In the girls meet, Alexia Ragab, Alivia Deemer, Sofia Nabyt, and Laney Stewart combined to win the 200 medley relay in 2:05.48.

Chloe Levin came in first in the 200 free in 2:25.71, Nabyt won the 200 IM in 2:41.38, Deemer placed first in the 50 free in 27.34, Stewart won the 100 fly in 1:13.74, Kaylee Buglino came in first in the 100 free in 1:07.70, Ragab won the 500 free in 6:27.85, Lily Campbell won the 100 back in 1:16.37, and Stewart won the 100 breast in 1:21.62.

Nabyt, Stewart, Ragab, and Deemer won the 200 free relay in 1:54.54, and Ragab, Buglino, Campbell, and Deemer took first place in the 400 free relay in 4:46.30.

In team scores, the Patriot girls defeated the Dieruff Huskies, 147-13.