breaststroke whenever he needed a breather. For now, he needed to stay in contact with the pack.
He could already tell that some swimmers were starting too fast. Within a minute he was twenty meters behind the leader, and only three swimmers were in back of him. But the biggest group was just a few strokes ahead, including Vinnie and Tony.
“That’s Avery Moretti with the early lead,” came an announcement over the loudspeaker. “The defending champion is right with him.”
The water in front of Riley was all churned up by the many kicking feet. He counted nine swimmers immediately ahead of him, spread out over four or five meters. Colin was just to Riley’s left, and basketball star Johnny Rios was to his right.
You’re in contention
, Riley thought.
Long way to go. Be patient
.
He decided to shut out the distractions for a few minutesand just swim comfortably before assessing whether to make a move. So he put his head down and moved steadily, counting fifty strokes with each arm before looking ahead.
Rios remained beside him, and the line of swimmers in front had stretched out a bit. Moretti appeared to be holding on to the lead, but Alvarez was still with him. There was a small gap to the next group of three and then a bigger space, and all but those five leaders were still within striking distance.
Vinnie and Tony were in that next group. Riley and Rios were eleventh and twelfth at the moment, but they were just a couple of strokes ahead of Colin and the next bunch.
You’re way ahead of last time
, he thought.
No puking in the water tonight
.
By the time they reached the yellow buoy where they’d turned around in the trials, Riley and Rios had joined the large group that included Vinnie and Tony. There were eight of them now. Everyone looked steady; no one was struggling yet. He was the smallest one in this pack by far.
They were still about a quarter mile from the midpoint of the race. The five swimmers out front were way ahead of them.
Nearly everybody in Riley’s group had finished at least a minute faster than he had in the qualifying heats. Now hewas right here with them, and he was feeling great. He knew he was riding the edge and that fatigue could overtake him anytime, but he’d never wanted anything more than to hang in there and beat some of these people.
He switched to the breaststroke for a few minutes, steadying his breathing. Everyone was swimming hard, but no one was making any decisive moves just yet. It was a battle of endurance for now.
Before long he heard another announcement: “Moretti continues to lead at the midpoint, with Alvarez a body length behind. Both swimmers are well under record pace.”
As the leaders passed him heading for home, Riley counted the seconds between them and the next group of three. There was at least a twenty-second gap. Kelvin Dawkins was right in the mix.
That trio was a good minute ahead of Riley’s pack, which still included eight swimmers. Several of them picked up the pace as they neared the turnaround point. Riley swung wide and passed Troy Hiller and Omar Ventura, moving into tenth for the moment.
Homestretch
, Riley thought.
Halfway there! Top ten is yours for the taking
.
The next group was coming toward them now, still heading for the turn. Riley looked for his teammates. He spotted Colin in a pack of four. Eldon had moved up andjoined him. They were more than a minute behind Riley but very much in contention for some points.
“Cabin Three!” Riley called.
“Looking good!” Eldon yelled back.
The exchange with Eldon gave him a lift.
Time to make a move
, he thought.
String out this pack and see who’s a real contender
.
He quickly found himself abreast of Vinnie and Tony. Vinnie looked shocked when he noticed Riley, but then he grinned. “Where’d you come from, Liston?”
“I’ve been right behind you the whole race,” Riley said, his words coming in between puffs.
“We can do this,” Tony said. “Big points if we
He could already tell that some swimmers were starting too fast. Within a minute he was twenty meters behind the leader, and only three swimmers were in back of him. But the biggest group was just a few strokes ahead, including Vinnie and Tony.
“That’s Avery Moretti with the early lead,” came an announcement over the loudspeaker. “The defending champion is right with him.”
The water in front of Riley was all churned up by the many kicking feet. He counted nine swimmers immediately ahead of him, spread out over four or five meters. Colin was just to Riley’s left, and basketball star Johnny Rios was to his right.
You’re in contention
, Riley thought.
Long way to go. Be patient
.
He decided to shut out the distractions for a few minutesand just swim comfortably before assessing whether to make a move. So he put his head down and moved steadily, counting fifty strokes with each arm before looking ahead.
Rios remained beside him, and the line of swimmers in front had stretched out a bit. Moretti appeared to be holding on to the lead, but Alvarez was still with him. There was a small gap to the next group of three and then a bigger space, and all but those five leaders were still within striking distance.
Vinnie and Tony were in that next group. Riley and Rios were eleventh and twelfth at the moment, but they were just a couple of strokes ahead of Colin and the next bunch.
You’re way ahead of last time
, he thought.
No puking in the water tonight
.
By the time they reached the yellow buoy where they’d turned around in the trials, Riley and Rios had joined the large group that included Vinnie and Tony. There were eight of them now. Everyone looked steady; no one was struggling yet. He was the smallest one in this pack by far.
They were still about a quarter mile from the midpoint of the race. The five swimmers out front were way ahead of them.
Nearly everybody in Riley’s group had finished at least a minute faster than he had in the qualifying heats. Now hewas right here with them, and he was feeling great. He knew he was riding the edge and that fatigue could overtake him anytime, but he’d never wanted anything more than to hang in there and beat some of these people.
He switched to the breaststroke for a few minutes, steadying his breathing. Everyone was swimming hard, but no one was making any decisive moves just yet. It was a battle of endurance for now.
Before long he heard another announcement: “Moretti continues to lead at the midpoint, with Alvarez a body length behind. Both swimmers are well under record pace.”
As the leaders passed him heading for home, Riley counted the seconds between them and the next group of three. There was at least a twenty-second gap. Kelvin Dawkins was right in the mix.
That trio was a good minute ahead of Riley’s pack, which still included eight swimmers. Several of them picked up the pace as they neared the turnaround point. Riley swung wide and passed Troy Hiller and Omar Ventura, moving into tenth for the moment.
Homestretch
, Riley thought.
Halfway there! Top ten is yours for the taking
.
The next group was coming toward them now, still heading for the turn. Riley looked for his teammates. He spotted Colin in a pack of four. Eldon had moved up andjoined him. They were more than a minute behind Riley but very much in contention for some points.
“Cabin Three!” Riley called.
“Looking good!” Eldon yelled back.
The exchange with Eldon gave him a lift.
Time to make a move
, he thought.
String out this pack and see who’s a real contender
.
He quickly found himself abreast of Vinnie and Tony. Vinnie looked shocked when he noticed Riley, but then he grinned. “Where’d you come from, Liston?”
“I’ve been right behind you the whole race,” Riley said, his words coming in between puffs.
“We can do this,” Tony said. “Big points if we
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