Republic competed at Foster Natatorium in Springfield Tuesday. (Photos below.)
The night was highlighted by Seth Lock, who became the first Republic swimmer to compete in the 500-meter freestyle. The 500-meter is the equivalent of the long-distance races in track and field. The race is 20 lengths of the pool – a distance that can intimidate some swimmers.
“I was a little nervous at first, but everyone was telling me it’s just like warmups. You’ve got to swim it like warmups, but a little bit stronger. And that’s what I did,” Lock said. “I was tired, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought and I definitely could push myself a little bit further.”
Now that the first one is over, Lock expects he’ll be swimming the race at future meets.
“It’s kind of a curse, but ‘You swim a good 500,’ so I figured that means I’m going to have to definitely swim it again.”
Lock finished in 6:15.012, which, by virtue of the fact that he’s the first to swim the event, is a school record.
