Traditions renewed when Framingham and Natick boys swim teams meet for first time since 2020

FRAMINGHAM — If 2021 was the year traditions were put on hold, perhaps 2022 is the year to renew them.

That is what the Framingham and Natick boys swim teams did Friday afternoon at Keefe Tech's pool.

While the Flyers won the meet, 95-83, the Redhawks will say with a wink and a nudge that they won the meet that really matters.

"The T-shirt relay is really the most important thing," Natick senior Blake Horsch said. "They might disagree, but T-shirt relay is supreme and winning that again was a huge honor and I was glad to be able to be a part of it."

"They won the battle but we won the war," fellow Redhawks senior Noah Hamer added. "But it's always really fun doing it. It's a good time to win something."

The T-shirt relay along with the "beached whale" slip-and-slide and "whirlpool" is part of senior traditions that Framingham and Natick seniors take part in after every Framingham and Natick swim meet.

For the T-shirt relay, each swimmer wears the aforementioned garment while swimming freestyle for a 50-yard leg. Before the next swimmer in the relay goes, they have to put on the T-shirt that the previous swimmer was wearing.

It was the third straight T-shirt relay victory for Natick (3-4 on the season).

"The last few years we have been fortunate to have strong senior classes that have done well to keep up with Framingham's seniors," Natick swim coach Caitlin Shaddock said. "It's great because we've actually had the same number of seniors for the first time in a long time so it definitely added to the excitement for sure."

There was no Framingham-Natick meet last year due to COVID-19, so this matchup was long overdue.

"It was absolutely amazing," Shaddock said. "These guys love this meet for the traditions, the fun, they know each other so it adds an extra layer of excitement to this meet every year. For us not having it last year, it definitely wasn't quite the same."

Similar to the finish of the 400 freestyle relay, Hamer just out-touched Flyers senior JJ Dupcak to win the T-shirt relay. Despite Framingham (4-1) closing the gap on the last leg of the T-shirt relay, the Redhawks weren't all that concerned.

"I was the one swimming," Hamer said. "All I knew was that he wasn't in my eyesight so I thought I was doing okay."

So what has been the key to Natick's success in the T-shirt relay?

"I think we got a good strategy," Horsch said. "We perfected it. A time-honored tradition of grabbing the guy in front of you and two guys pull it over you. You kind of get it down to seconds after practicing every day. It's very important to us."

In addition to the T-shirt relay, Framingham and Natick seniors participate in a slip-and-slide called the "beached whale," according to Shaddock. It is perhaps the only time running on the pool deck is an acceptable practice. Following the slip-and-slide, the two rival schools came together and participated in a newer tradition called the whirlpool.

"I personally don't understand the appeal of it myself," Shaddock said. "But I know the guys love it and I know that they love all of them being together and having fun as a whole big group versus rival, rival opponent, opponent type of deal, so it is fun to see even if it is silly."

The whirlpool tradition was started as a way to remind themselves to come together to have fun.

"It's a lot of fun and it gets everyone excited," Dupcak said. "It's something where, whether we win or lose, you know that's something that will always be fun for the seniors and everyone else."

As for the meet itself, Dupcak qualified for states in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 57.08 seconds. Additionally, both Framingham's and Natick's 200-yard freestyle relay teams qualified for states with the Flyers coming in first with a time of 1:36.77 beating, the Redhawks by two-tenths of a second.

After not having the Framingham-Natick meet last year, the senior traditions are especially meaningful this year.

"We've been through some dark times," Framingham senior Brian Fintonis said. "We didn't have the Natick meet last year, so being able to be back and do the traditions that we did, it just means a lot to all of us and it's nice to be back."

Ethan Winter is a senior multimedia sports journalist at the Daily News. He can be reached at ewinter@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @EWints.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham High School boys swimming beats Natick, renews traditions