Freshman Braedan Fergason scored nine points in his first varsity meet to lead a young Republic lineup at the Joplin Outdoor Invitational, finishing ninth in the 200 yard freestyle with a time of 2:19.01.
Republic brought five swimmers to Joplin — four freshmen and sophomore Jonathan Noell — getting their first taste of varsity competition. The results showed a team getting faster almost every time they hit the water.
Fergason swam a leg on both of Republic’s relay teams, which also finished ninth in their events. He added a 25th-place finish in the 100 yard freestyle, cutting 0.66 seconds off his previous best time in that race.
Blake Allen picked up a point for the Tigers with a 16th-place swim in the 200 yard freestyle, finishing in 2:47.84. Allen also knocked more than two seconds off his best time in the 100 yard freestyle, finishing in 1:15.89.
The 200 yard medley relay team of Fergason, Allen, Jonathan Noell, and Gabe Richardson finished ninth in 2:35.49. In the 200 yard freestyle relay, Fergason, Allen, Tytus Dorsey, and Richardson also took ninth, finishing in 2:14.32.
Dorsey took 3.60 seconds off his best in the 100 yard freestyle, the biggest improvement on the team, finishing in 1:26.96. Noell dropped time in both of his individual races — 1.33 seconds in the 50 yard freestyle and 2.77 seconds in the 100 yard freestyle.
Richardson posted the team’s fastest 50 yard freestyle, finishing 30th in 32.08. He was also the only Tiger to swim the 100 yard breaststroke, placing 24th in 1:37.87.
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