Lake Oswego boys swim past Pacers in ‘Battle’

The Lakers close out their stellar regular season by beating Lakeridge 106-50.

The Lake Oswego boys swim team just about did it all in 2022.

In their first full post-pandemic season, the Lakers rolled through the Three Rivers League season without a loss, won the TRL district crown and went on to win the Class 6A state title for the first time since 1994.

While there’s much work left to be done for this year’s Lake Oswego team, the Lakers took the most recent step in their 2023 journey on Thursday, Feb. 2, when they beat crosstown rival Lakeridge 106-50 in the annual Battle of the Lake at Lake Oswego School District Pool.

“I think we all did well,” said Lake Oswego senior Tylor Kim, who won the 50-yard freestyle and 100 free, and also swam on two winning relay teams. “It was just a lot of fun because it was our senior night and we all gave it our best and I can’t wait to see how districts go.”

“The entire team gave their everything for this meet and I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” said LO senior Jonathan Bell, winner of the 200 freestyle and 500 free, as well as swimming on two winning Laker relays. “Everyone went out and swam as hard as they could, and it was definitely noticeable. Everyone was fired up and hyped to swim. Regardless of how anyone placed, added time or dropped time, I am so incredibly proud of everyone on this team.”

The win put an exclamation point on the Lakers’ successful 2022-23 regular season and set the table for what they hope is even more success at the Three Rivers League district meet. That event is set for 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, and 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, at Tualatin High School.
The Pacers, meanwhile, left proud of their efforts and excited about their chances in the big meets ahead.

“I think we all knew they were tough opponents being state champions last year,” said Lakeridge senior Rocco Lepiane, who took second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 200 individual medley, and swam on one winning Pacer relay team. “I am proud of our ability to stay focused and give our best throughout the meet.”

“We gave it our all tonight, and although (we) couldn’t pull off a win, we still put up great times and have a better understanding of what we need to improve on,” added Pacer senior Walker Godfrey, who finished sixth in his two individual events and swam on two third-place relays.

The Lakers showed their strength big-time against the Pacers, winning 10 of 11 races while also grabbing second seven times in the Battle of the Lake.

Kim and Bell won twice each, as did freshman Alexandru Epifanov, who took top honors in the 200 IM and 100 backstroke. The Lakers also got individual victories from senior Jiyu Yang in the 100 butterfly and junior Minsong Kim in the 100 breaststroke, as well as winning two of the meet’s three relays.

Tylor Kim did his part in the 50 and 100 freestyle races, taking the 50 with a time of 21.18 seconds, then coming back to set the pace in the 100 free with a mark of 46.74.

“I felt pretty good. Though physically I was a bit sore, I still managed to go 20.9 — according to the coaches — which would mean I broke my school record again,” Kim said of his 50 free. “(The) 100 freestyle wasn’t bad, but it could’ve been (better).”

Bell stepped up to win the 200 freestyle at 1:54.06, then came back five races later to top the 500 free with a 5:05.43.

“I didn’t do all … good because I added a bunch of time in both my 200 free and 500 free,” Bell said. “Overall, however, I do think I did good. Winning both my races definitely was a bonus.”

Epifanov, meanwhile, broke through in the 200 IM with a time of 2:09.51, then repeated that success in the 100 backstroke at 58.69. Yang won the butterfly at 58.56, while Minsong Kim took the breaststroke with a time of 1:04.32.

In the Lakers’ two relay wins, Bell, Minsong Kim, senior William Thistlethwaite and Tylor Kim took the 200 medley at 1:42.24, while Minsong Kim, senior Hudson Schneider, freshman Sullevan Kirtz and Tylor Kim topped the 200 free with a time of 1:31.92.

For Lakeridge, the Pacers’ lone win came in the day’s last event, the 400 freestyle relay. There, senior Henry Sturges, Lepiane, senior Markus Wojtalik and freshman Alexander Vail went 3:25.93 to beat the Lakers by more than six seconds.

“I think I did really well in our 400 free relay,” Lepiane said. “I was proud of how I did in the final event after doing challenging events earlier in the meet.”

In addition to their relay victory, the Pacers notched four runner-up finishes in the meet, with Wojtalik racing to a 22.65 in the 50 free, Lepiane going 59.94 in the butterfly, freshman Kyle Koch posting a 5:22.44 in the 500 free, and the 200 free relay team of Vail, senior Colin Alexander, Wojtalik and Sturges swimming to a 1:35.77.

Beyond all that, however, swimmers from both teams reveled in the competition and camaraderie of the Battle of the Lake.

“I believe the best part of the night was the support the racers, especially the seniors, received from the rest of the team,” Godfrey said.

“The best part of senior night was definitely being able to race (Lakeridge) one last time,” Tylor Kim said. “I knew a couple of the guys on the other team already so it was nice to catch up with them and race.”

“Because I know a lot of the swimmers from the LO side, it was fun to celebrate our history of swimming together,” Lepiane said. “Some of us have swum together since we were in 8-unders.”

“In my opinion, the best part of the Battle of the Lake was definitely the two breaks we had to honor the seniors,” Bell added. “It was so much fun getting to run through the lineup of our team cheering us on, as well as getting to be a part of that lineup for the second half of senior night.”

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