Photo by Jimmy Lafakis/The Herald
Northeast Dubois senior Carter Beckman is recognized during Tuesday evening’s swim meet against Vincennes
Lincoln in Dubois. The Jeeps celebrated senior night against the Alices.

By JIMMY LAFAKIS
jlafakis@dcherald.com

DUBOIS — Preparing for the swimming and diving sectionals brings a heightened level of excitement for Northeast Dubois head coach Kendra Friedman and the Jeeps. Northeast Dubois celebrated senior night against Vincennes Lincoln in a dual meet on Tuesday evening.

The Alices captured two narrow wins — an 83-65 victory on the boys side and an 84-74 win in the girls meet. The Jeeps honored seniors Trevor Buechler, Carter Beckman, Pierce Brinkman, Adelle Fravell and Emilee Clark.

“Senior night is always fun,” Friedman said. “The atmosphere is always so different from other meets. Everybody is pumped up. Everybody is ready. They swim really well on senior night — that’s normally how it goes. They did the same thing tonight.”

Fravell captured the Jeeps’ first win of the evening in the 200 freestyle event. Later in the meet, Elizabeth Schepers earned victories in the 500 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.

Averi Bauer defeated Lincoln’s Ashlyn Hillenbrand in a competitive 100 breaststroke. The Northeast Dubois quartet of Anna Schnell, Sabrina Dunning, Bauer and Fravell seized a victory in the 400 freestyle relay.

“We’d been losing a lot of races because we hadn’t been finishing,” Friedman said. “I told them that I wanted them to get in there, finish, dig down deep and go. They did that tonight.”

Landon Reuber won the boys 200 freestyle for Northeast Dubois. Buechler followed Reuber’s victory with a win in the 200 individual medley. Preston Brinkman won the 500 freestyle and the 100 backstroke before contributing to a 400 freestyle relay win alongside Beckman, Reuber and Dakota Roach.

“The boys swam really well,” Friedman said. “There were a lot of (personal records) tonight, which has been something that we’ve been kind of lacking this season. When they came in, I told them that I want them to race. That’s what they did tonight, so I’m really proud of them.”

Friedman welcomed the opportunity to compete against a talented foe in Lincoln. The meet helped the Jeeps get ready for the road ahead.

“It prepares us,” Friedman said. “At the sectional, there are some big schools and some really good swimmers. It’s always good to have a really good night of swimming prior to the sectional. For the girls, this is their last meet prior to the sectional. The boys have one more meet, but it just gets them in the mode and gets them ready to go race in the sectional.”

Friedman also highlighted the importance of recognizing the dedicated Jeeps seniors.

“We really just want to honor our seniors because they work so hard,” she said. “They do a lot for the program in the four or five years that they’re with us. We just want to do what we can to honor them.”

The Northeast Dubois boys team will return to the pool at 6 p.m. Feb. 2 against Southridge and Gibson Southern in Dubois.

“It’s always good to get those teams under our belt and see what they do prior to going to sectionals,” Friedman said.