Rival Grand Valley State University swam away with the win at last week’s swim meet in Grand Rapids, Michigan, beating Hillsdale 218-68. Hillsdale also finished behind Calvin College 176-114.
Though the Chargers admitted they are disappointed with performance, they’re staying positive. Several girls achieved personal goals during the meet, head coach Kurt Kirner said.
“We have been riddled with injury and illness, but we had very nice performances by the balance of the team. We keep getting better each week,” Kirner said.
Sophomore Anika Ellingson won first place in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:06. Ellingson holds the school record in the event, thanks to a 1:03.35 swim last season. for fourth-best time in that event. After her impressive performance, Ellingson was named GLIAC Swimmer of the Week.
Junior Theresa Smith matched her championship time from last year in the 200-yard breaststroke race.
Freshman Danielle LeBleu took second in two events — her 10:44.71 performance in the 1000-yard freestyle is in the top 10 times in program history.
Sophomore Grace Houghton said that people are thinking constructively about their swims and adjusting for different factors in the weeks before like injuries, sickness, harder lifts, intense schedules, and changes in training for the freshmen.
“We’re learning as we go, so every experience, whether textbook or not, is to our advantage,” Houghton said.
Historically, GVSU is a rival school, and the team said this meet is always an anticipated challenge. They agreed that the women swam some really great individual races and gave the races their best efforts.
“Obviously the team is trying to improve, but I think it’s important to look at individual efforts and praise those, rather than taking everything from the end result,” junior captain Peyton Bowen said. “It wasn’t our best meet, but I’m proud of the way we conducted ourselves and kept the team positivity up.”
According to both Bowen and Houghton, the women on the team are looking to the next meet and anticipate heading into the next round of events with heads held high.
“A big goal of ours is team unity and positivity. It’s important to recognize the good individual swims and move past the bad ones in order to prepare for upcoming races. With those goals in mind, this meet was a success in my book,” Bowen said.