With the middle of the season upon them, the Hillsdale College swim team had a positive showing at the University of Chicago on Nov. 20.
The Chargers finished in second place, behind the University of Chicago, with a total of 632.5 points. Colorado College, Illinois Tech, and Lincoln College followed in third, fourth, and fifth place. Strong performances from freshmen and returners alike contributed to the solid finish.
“Overall performances were what I expected for the rest we gave them. I felt the mid-distance and distance swimmers were really good drops,” head coach Kurt Kirner said. “The sprinters not as much since we didn’t drop yardage over significant time.”
Senior Sarah Rinaldi has swam faster and faster times throughout the season, breaking her own personal record in the 200 Individual Medley with a time of 2:06.48. Rinaldi’s performance was a huge victory for the Chargers, racking up 20 points.
“This year the team has been working hard, and I think that the hard work has simply paid off,” Rinaldi said. “Many of the other girls turned in solid times at Chicago and it showed there as well. Also, it’s my senior year; I really wanted to do well. I know that I’ve been capable of some of those swims for a while, it was just a matter of timing.”
Rinaldi was also the champion of the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:20.84, breaking the school record by a large margin. The Chargers went 1-2-3 in that event, with junior Emily Balog finishing in second, and freshman Anika Ellingson in third.
Ellingson dominated the competition with a time of 1:04.58, setting a new school record. Rinaldi finished second to Ellingson in the 100-yard breaststroke.
Senior captain Zoe Hopkins outlasted the competition in the 1650-yard freestyle, winning a tight race with a time of 17:24.85. After the long event, she turned around to swim the 500-yard freestyle, earning fourth place. Hopkins also contributed to the third-place-finishing 800-yard freestyle relay alongside senior Jennifer Wheeler, junior Emily Shallman, and freshman Suzanne DeTar.
“There were some lifetime best times and lots of season best times. It’s a really good motivation boost to see your teammates do well and to also see your hard work finally pay off,” Hopkins said. “It’s a good meet to help us see where we are at because we only do a short rest so we’re still not fully recovered, so seeing our times from just a few days of recovery helps get us excited for the end of the season when we do a full taper and our times get even faster. It’s also good to get our bodies ready for GLIACs which is four full days of prelims and finals, compared to Chicago which is two and a half days. It helps give us an idea of the schedule and how our bodies feel with so much competing.”
The Chargers also went 2-3-4 in the 100-yard backstroke. Senior Nafoa Noll led the way with a time of 1:01.17. She was followed by freshmen Suzanne DeTar and Tiffany Farris, earning the Chargers 48 points in the 100 backstroke alone.
The team has a break coming up, which will allow the Chargers to rest their bodies and prepare for next semester’s half of the season.
“Our focus will be to stay in prime condition over exams and break until we get our uninterrupted training focus back after Christmas when we will resume our conditioning in Florida on Dec. 29,” Kirner said.