Swimming: Defending-state champion Pioneer tops Saline in opener

The Pioneer boys’ swimming and diving team opened the SEC Red Division schedule on Thursday against a familiar and challenging foe in Saline. The Pioneers didn’t waste any time declaring that the defending state champions are back for more of the same as they dunked the host Hornets 122-63.

Pioneer won a close opening medley relay as the team of Jack Wilkening, Ryan Hume, Robert Yang and Gabriel Burks touched first in a D-1 qualifying time of 1 minute, 35.82 seconds.

The Pioneers swept the 200 freestyle with Teodor Jaworski first (1:44.30) followed by Harrison Sanders (1:46.01) and Alec Lipham (1:47.64). Jaworski and Sanders had D-1 qualifying times.

Hume won the 200 IM in a D-1 qualifying time of 1:55.25 with Christopher Leuciuc second (2:04.83).

Wilkening won the 50 free in 21.78 seconds. Burks was third (22.22) and Yang fourth (22.29). All were D-1 qualifying times.

Pioneer’s Gabriel Mercier won the diving with 207.95 points.

Yang touched first in the butterfly with a D-1 qualifying time of 51.75. Justin Su was third (54.47) and Leuciuc fifth (56.99).

In the 100 free, Sanders was third (48.74) and Burks fourth (49.35) in a D-1 qualifying times.

Pioneer went one-two in the 500 free with Hume first (4:43.07) and Jaworski second (4:48.01) in D-1 qualifying times.

The Pioneer team of Sanders, Alex Farmer, Burks and Hume took first place in the 200 free relay with a D-1 qualifying time of 1:29.25. Pioneer’s team of Jaworski, Almeida, Lipham and Jensen Wood took second in 1:34.38.

Wilkening won the backstroke with a D-1 qualifying time of 51.31. Isaac Almeida was third in 58.41.

In the breaststroke, Farmer touched second in 1:02.07.

Pioneer went one-two in the 400-free relay.

The team of Yang, Sanders, Jaworski and Wilkening took first in a D-1 qualifying time of 3:16.08. The team of Lipham, Su, Wood and Matthew DeBona was second in 3:27.88.