Standing on the deck of the Merrillville High School pool, Jamiere Wilson (9), Matthew Applegate (9), Joshua Barajas (9) and Connor Homans (9) prepared for their next event: the 200 freestyle relay with a record of 1:38.42. Little did they know that in less than two minutes, they would be record holders.

Barajas explained how the race played out.

“Before the race I was pretty nervous, but I told everyone on my relay to not breathe in or out of the turns.  I lead off, and I saw A.J. right next to me. I knew I needed to be a half [of] a body length ahead of him. I pushed myself really hard the second half of the race. I split a 23.66, and I was confident we would break it after that. Jamiere came into the wall and I saw the clock hit 1:38, [but] I didn’t know if we  the record yet.  We waited for the clock to register and we ended up with a 1:38.25.” Barajas said.

As the season progresses, Barajas is hoping to continue to claim more spots in the record book.

“I hope I can break the 500 record this year. I just need to push myself harder at practice,” Barajas said.