It has never happened. In the history of the Wayland Men’s Swimming and Diving program, no Warrior team has defeated the Weston Red Tide in a dual meet. Ever. But all that changed on December 23rd at the Wayland vs. Weston dual meet.

Pitted against their biggest rival, the Warrior boys made history by handing Weston their first loss in almost 7 years and defeating Weston for the first time ever. In the process, the Warriors broke the Weston boys’ impressive dual meet record of 105-0 since 2002.

The Warriors were full of excitement, joy, and relief. When Senior Captain Andrew Becker was first asked how he felt after the meet, his response was “AHHHHHHHHHHH!” his excitement causing all words to escape him.

Sophomore Ian Stack was able to find a few. “When the meet was over I felt very jubilant, yet relieved at the same time. It was the same feeling you get when you open that present you have been wanting for so long.”

The day before the meet, the coaches pulled the whole boys team out of the pool to talk about the meet. The coaches went through who would be swimming what and how the team needed to place in all events in order to win. Coach Keith Meliones pumped the team up, saying “Weston is like a wounded animal, fighting for survival. They are not going to go down without a fight.”

The entire team was ready for the meet, the adrenaline flowing. Wayland started the meet out with a 10-4 lead after getting 1st (Bobby Dresser, Mike Ren, Ian Stack, Travis Downs) and 3rd (Andrew Becker, Jon Lam, Ryan Devlin, Brendan Place) in the medley relays.

The next event, the 200-yard freestyle, was a close one with the top 3 finishers all within a second of each other. Wayland was hoping to get at least 1st and 3rd, but Senior Nick Karlson was able to touch out Weston’s swimmer by 0.02 seconds to give Wayland the much needed 1st (Downs) and 2nd (Karlson) place points.

Wayland was not able to win the following 200-yard IM (Individual Medley), but was able to take 2nd (Michael Surjaputra), 3rd (Stack), and 4th (Ren). Wayland now had a commanding lead 29-17 going into the next two events, the 50-yard freestyle and diving. Wayland had some amazing performances in the 50 with Place (3rd), Devlin (4th), and Charlie D’Orlando (5th), each scoring important points for the team, and Austin Brennan finishing third in diving. Still, Weston found itself in the lead 39-38 at the half, climbing back in with strong performances in the 50 and diving.

After a brief intermission, the Warriors showed that they had not given up hope, exceeding their expectations in the 100-yard butterfly. Wayland was able to claim the points for 1st (Stack), 2nd (Devlin), and 4th (Dresser). With the score back in Wayland’s favor at 50-43, the boys hoped to expand their lead in the 100-yard freestyle, and they did just that. After placing 1st (Downs), 3rd (Becker), and 4th (Place), the Warriors were now in the driver’s seat, leading 61-48.

In the 500-yard freestyle, Karlson (2nd) and Surjaputra (3rd) were able to give 7 more points to Wayland and keep the lead at 68-57. In the next event, the 200-yard freestyle relay, the coaches wanted to make sure that Wayland kept the lead. Instead of maintaining one relay that was relatively faster than the other, the Wayland coaches split the two relays into two equal teams. This way Wayland was able to secure the 2nd (Stack, Devlin, JC Murtaugh, Place) and 3rd (Karlson, D’Orlando, Zach Baxter, and Surjaputra) place points to hold a 9-point lead.

In the 100-yard backstroke, Becker (1st) and Dresser (2nd) were able to pump the score to 84-71, which started to put fear into Weston. In the final individual event, the 100-yard breaststroke, Wayland placed 1st (Ren) and 4th (Lam) putting them up 92-79 and making it impossible for Weston to catch up. But the Wayland Warriors weren’t done yet.

Junior Bobby Dresser gives a summary of the last event, the 400-yard freestyle relay: “It was the most exciting race of the meet. After an unbelievable leadoff swim by Karlson, Surjaputra followed in fashion, each of them going the fastest they had ever swum. Third for Wayland was Becker, who also swam out of his mind. Unfortunately, Weston had taken the lead from the beginning, but Karlson, Surjaputra, and Becker had put Downs in the perfect position for the last leg. Swimming a lifetime best time, Downs was able to catch up and take the lead with all at the pool on their feet cheering. They won the event and smashed the pool record while doing it.” Wayland was also able to score points for 3rd place (Murtaugh, Dresser, Dan Crisafulli, Ren).

The 400 free relay was not the only exciting or important race. Senior Captain Brendan Place tells us about another great race. “My favorite race of the night was Ryan Devlin’s 100 Fly. He went out there and had the race of his life, finally making States after 4 years of hard work. He stepped it up when we really needed him and beat a kid that he always strived to beat.” Other great swims included Becker’s 100 backstroke, Karlson’s 200 free, and D’Orlando’s 50 free.

Wayland won the meet not only because of important wins, but also because of important 2nd through 5th place points. It wasn’t just one person who won the meet, it was the whole team. Stack says, “I am extremely proud of my teammates and the consistent effort they have put in each and every practice. It is because of all the hard work of each person on the team that we were able to defeat Weston.”

The Warriors know the season isn’t over and are already preparing for later meets. Senior Captain Michael Surjaputra knows that they still have tough foes to face. “Westford Academy is our next big meet, and we haven’t lost to them in a while, and we do not plan to do it this year.”

Surjaputra is confident with the team and its ability to do well against Westford, Lincoln-Sudbury, and Acton-Boxboro. “I know that this year is going to continue to be great because everyone is working harder than ever. The practices are tough, and everyone is getting pumped for each meet.”

The Wayland Boys now have a record of 6-0 after also defeating Waltham and Arlington. They face the only other undefeated team in the DCL, Westford Academy, on Thursday, January 8.