Mules swim team defeats Cape Central

The Poplar Bluff High School boys swim and dive team hosted their first swim meet of the season as they welcomed the Cape Central Tigers to the Black River Coliseum.

The Poplar Bluff Mules reigned supreme as they tallied in more total team points to walk away with an easy win over Cape Central 102-58 on Tuesday.

With the swim season in full motion, the Mules head boys swim coach Kyler Sowell said the first few meets for the team have gone smoothly with their new additions to the team and noted that the performance from the returners has gotten better and better.

“So far, they've been doing great,” Sowell said. “We got a lot of new boys, and they're catching on quick, which means I don't have to spend much time on technique because they pick it up. The older boys are staying consistent with what they did last year and improving, so I can't complain.”

Both Teams competed in 12 events, from the 200-yard freestyle down to the 400-yard freestyle relay. The Mules lunged out front by capturing the first event of the evening as Isaac Cato, Henry Duncan, Landon Thomas and Carson Todd took first place in the 200-yard medley relay with a final time of 2:04.

The Mules would continue to dominate the next few events, with Cyrus Sagharichi winning the 200-yard freestyle and Todd placing first in the 200-yard IM. Sagharichi won the most individual events with two as he also won the 100-yard butterfly.

The Mules secured their win by taking first in the last three events. Cato won first in the 100-yard backstroke, while Thomas won the 100-yard breaststroke. Poplar Bluff would end off with a team victory as Todd, Duncan, Cato and Sagharichi took first place in the 400-yard freestyle relay.

Sowell said he was proud of how his team competed but was happy to see how much fun they were having.

“Today's meet was fun for them because I let them pick one event they wanted to do, while I chose the other,” he said. “I didn't let them know until five minutes before the meet, and they did great. I threw them some loops and gave some of the other boys to get some chances in the relay where I usually don't, but they really stepped up their game. It was a great thing to see.”