Lansing boys swimming wins IAC Championship

It’s been a fantastic season for Lansing boys swimming. The Bobcats went undefeated in nine dual meets, taking down IAC powers Waverly and Watkins Glen along the way. The team’s biggest achievement came this past weekend in Waverly, winning the IAC Championship.

Lansing earned the top spot in three of 12 events, with seniors Zachary Hwang and Xander Tavares taking home victories. Tavares won both the 200-yard medley and the 100-yard backstroke, while Hwang won the 200-yard freestyle.

Being two of the five seniors on the team with plenty of varsity experience, Tavares and Hwang gave their perspectives on the team’s success this season.

“This season, we had a lot of guys this year,” Tavares said. “We started out with about 26 swimmers and dropped down to about 18. That held steady for most of the season. We had a good power in numbers there. Most of our swimmers are just really strong in general. We’ve got someone who can do pretty competently in pretty much everything.”

Hwang added that communication was a key factor too, making sure everyone was giving their best effort. While some team-bonding activities were restricted due to COVID-19, that did not slow Lansing down.

“It was a little more difficult this year because we didn’t have team dinners or anything because we’re not allowed to with COVID restrictions,” Hwang said. “But everyone on this team has a place. Whether it be your main stroke or whether it be supporting your teammates, everyone helps out, and that’s how we’re able to achieve greatness.”

A turning point this season for Lansing was when the Bobcats defeated the reigning IAC Champions, Waverly, 96-87 in December. It showed the team just what they were capable of.

“Over the past four years, Waverly’s beat us consistently,” Hwang said. “When we finally beat them in our first dual meet against them this year, it was a really big achievement. It was a moment of realization saying, ‘Hey, we can do this.’ Waverly has a few really good swimmers, but I think our team overall has more depth and more consistency, and that’s ultimately what put us on top.”

That depth is helped by strong underclassmen, including freshman Connor Lajza, who was on the varsity team last year as an eighth-grader. Lajza placed second in the 100-yard butterfly at the IAC Championships, finishing as the top Lansing swimmer in the event.

Also among the underclassmen are Hwang and Tavares’ younger brothers. They are sophomore Miko Tavares and freshman Nicholas Hwang. Tavares stated that there’s both competition and guidance when swimming alongside his brother, while Hwang is happy to take advantage of the only year he’ll be able to be on the same team as his freshman sibling.

As for their individual victories at IACs, Tavares broke down his two wins.

“I was already seated to be first in [the individual medley], but it was still a bit of a challenge,” he said. “I really wanted to finish strong. Then in the backstroke, I was seeded second. The guy ahead of me [Waverly’s Oscar Williams] was about a second faster than me initially. I’ve been competing against him ever since I was a sophomore. It was really gratifying to see that I was finally able to surpass him. He’s been faster than me for quite a while.”

Hwang was projected to finish first in his event and that came to fruition. Now, he has his sights set on a swimmer who competed in different events at the IAC Championships.

“For the 200 free, I switched my mental approach going into the race,” Hwang said. “Usually, I try to save some energy for the third lap of the race and then push for the third lap. But on Saturday, I tried to go all out on the second lap. Then, I just tried to hold that pace for the third and final length. I think that’s what helped me win. Coming up on sectionals, Liam Smith, who’s from Watkins Glen, has a faster seed time than me. I hope he swims in sectionals so I can hopefully beat him.”

Looking ahead to sectionals, Tavares noted it would be a big achievement and a gratifying finish to an unbeaten season if they were to win as a team. Hwang looked back on the path the Bobcats took to get to this point as the top team in the IAC.

“When we were freshmen, our swim team was seven freshmen and one sophomore,” Hwang said. “We thought, OK, not this year.’ But now we’ve grown and now, we’re all seniors. I think our team has come a really long way. I think [a sectional title] is definitely within our reach.”

The Section IV Championships will take place Feb. 19 in Watkins Glen. If Tavares and Hwang were to lead the Bobcats to a victory, it would be Lansing’s first Section IV title win since 2016.

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