Having the weight of a swim meet on one's shoulders is not a coveted feeling, but when the end result is a 92.5-90.5 Freedom boys victory over the Liberty Hurricanes, chances are, it was worth it, if you are a Patriot.

The final meet of the regular season began with a Freedom victory in the 200 medley relay when Peter Conzola, Trevor Watlington, Connor Harrigan, and Sam Magnan narrowly took first place with a time of 1:42.80. Liberty's Sean Vannata, Nolan Vannata, Reid Rossi, and Jacob Jones placed second with a time of 1:43.11.

"I think the first event set the tone for the meet. Our coach put a good lineup together," FHS junior Trevor Watlington said.

In the next event, Magnan, Shjon Watlington, and Tyler Higgins had a one-two-three finish in the 200 free. Magnan's time was 1:45.14.

"That gave us a kind of cushion that helped us," said Trevor Watlington.

Harrigan won the 200 IM with a time of 2:05.14, and John McGinty won the diving event with 188.70 points.

The tide was only beginning to turn, however, when the Hurricanes had a one-two-three finish of their own in the 50 free. Evan Smith placed first with a time of 22.64, Jones came in second, and Brandon Hlavaty was third.

"Every place mattered, and they were a confident team," Trevor Watlington said.

Conzola won the 100 butterfly with a time of 53.09, but Rossi and Sean Vannata placed second and third, respectively, and even though Magnan won the 100 free with a time of 48.82, Jones, Smith, and Brandon Merkert were right behind, scoring more points for the Hurricanes.

Harrigan took first place in the 500 free with a time of 4:55.97, and Freedom's Higgins and Liberty's Rossi tied for second.

Perhaps the most damage was done to the Patriots in the 200 free relay.

Merkert, Nolan Vannata, Hlavaty, and Smith placed first with a time of 1:33.76, and teammates, Juwan Foster, Brice Kessler, Jared Messics, and John Butillo placed second, scoring 12 points in one event for Liberty.

Trevor Watlington said, "That set us back pretty far. Our coach said that we didn't have much chance to win if they got first and second."

Nearing the end of the meet, Conzola won the 100 backstroke with a time of 55.61, scoring six points for the Patriots, but Liberty's Alexis Calderon and teammate, Aaron Dolgos, placed second and third, respectively, scoring a total of seven points between them.

With two events left, Trevor Watlington prepared for the 100 breaststroke.

"I was kind of into my own world. After the buzzer went off, I was just trying to have a fast tempo and make sure I was putting a lot into my kick. Really, [Nolan Vannata] was ahead of me after the first lap. I passed him on the third lap, and he caught me on the last lap. I just kept pushing to the end. After I finished, I looked up at the board and heard my teammates cheering and realized we could win the meet," he said.

Trevor Watlington's time was 1:07.03, and Nolan Vannata's was 1:07.09.

Although Vannata was second, Freedom's Brandon Burnette was third, giving the Patriots a total of nine points between Watlington and him.

"The best feeling was that if I didn't win, the team probably wouldn't win and that made me feel great," said Trevor Watlington.

Now, with the 400 free relay approaching, four more Patriots would have the weight of this swim meet on their shoulders.

"If it didn't win, we probably would have lost the meet," Trevor Watlington said.

So, in the last event of the friendliest rivalry contest in town, Conzola, Shjon Watlington, Harrigan, and Magnan combined for first place with a time of 3:19.68, scoring eight points for the Patriots and defeating the Hurricanes.

"It's a great feeling as always," said Trevor Watlington.