Gavin Lewis’23. (Julia DeVore’22/Media)

The Academy boys swimming team kicked off its season with two victorious meets on Friday, December 6, and Saturday, December 7, proving CA is still a team to be reckoned with-despite losing key seniors last year.

The Vikes started the season with a bang, conquering Bexley 95-73 in a dual meet. After winning the district title the previous year, the Vikings entered the season with a dominant end goal in mind.

On Saturday, December 7, the Aquavikes hosted the annual Academy Relays. The Vikings welcomed Gahanna Lincoln, Westerville North, Bexley, Delaware Hayes, and the Wellington to our natatorium. Although Academy put up a good fight, the meet ended with a third place prize for the Vikings with a total score of 70.

The relays started off with a first-place victory, as Alek Balaloski’23, Luke Boltz’23, Ezra Johnson’20, and Gavin Lewis’23 dominated the 200- yard freestyle. James Cao’20 joined Balaloski, Boltz, and Lewis to take home the gold in the 500 freestyle relay.

Johnson, Cao, and Balaloski once again pushed hard in the 200 butterfly  but were just edged out by Westerville North, finishing second with a time of 1:55:82.