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A Few Clouds Double trouble for swimming opponents
Rudgayzer twins propel Hewlett High's boys' team
No, you aren’t seeing double, the water isn’t refracting the light and tricking your eyes. It’s just that twins, Josh and Ben Rudgayzer, have propelled Hewlett High School’s boys’ varsity swim team to a record of 6-1-1, with a meet on Friday against Westbury High.
Growing up many children take swimming lessons at their local high schools, and that’s how the two juniors first got their feet wet. “Mom put us in the swim club at like five years old,” Josh said. “We took to it immediately.”
The boys specialize in distance swimming, leading the team in the 200-meter and 500- meter freestyle races as well as some of the relay races. Freestyle is the standard overhead stroke, and a 200-meter race is eight laps, while a 500-meter race is 20 laps. Josh and Ben agreed that long-distance swimming came naturally, but they do enjoy the challenge. “I like pushing myself,” Ben said.
Additionally, who better to measure yourself against a twin? The Rudgayzers use each other as motivation to do better. “My brother is basically my mirror,” Ben said. “And you know you’re doing something right if you can beat your mirror.” “I always have someone to compete against,” Josh said. “[My brother] helps push me to my limit.”
Gregg Solnick, the boy’s swimming coach has taken notice of the friendly competition between the brothers. “There’s definitely a little rivalry between them,” he said. “They go at it, but they never get mad at each other.”
Josh said, the pool is where they’re at their most competitive, however, while it does remain friendly, like most siblings their rivalry it can sometimes can seep into other competitive activities. And at the end of the day, both are still looking to better themselves, “I look to do the best I can and stay at the top of my game,” Ben said.
Both have improved in the past three years, Solnick said, adding that their appearance in the county competition last season lit a fire under them. Josh hopes that they can lead the team to a conference championship and make the counties again. Ben said that they’re hoping to get under 2 minutes in the 200-meter race.
Serious about their swimming, the fraternal twins have a funny bone and contemplate switching places as a prank on friends or teachers. Yet they make sure it’s all business once they’re around the water.
“They’re good guys, they’re great to coach and great student. I can’t say enough about them,” said Solnick, adding that he thinks he’s also getting better at telling them both apart.
To that Ben joked, “I want to say yes, but it doesn’t matter he wants us both to be the best swimmers we can be … And maybe he’ll get better at it by our senior year.”
