The Chargers hosted their season home opener with a win over Davenport University on Saturday. The meet was the first for Davenport in its school history.
The Chargers’ sprinters had successful races, with senior Suzanne DeTar taking first place in the 50 freestyle with a time of 25.60 seconds and junior Victoria Addis taking third in 25.99. Freshman Taylor Boyle placed second in the 100 freestyle in 57.00 while freshman Madeline Breay took third in 57.50.
The Chargers swept the 1000 freestyle with Breay taking first, finishing in 11 minutes, 17.78 seconds in her first home meet. Senior Grace Houghton took second in the event with a time of 11:27.43, and freshman Becca Briskey took third in 13:09.56.
Junior Catherine Voisin took first in the 100 butterfly with a 1:00.90 finish, while freshman Anna Clark took an extremely close second in 1:00.92.
In the 100 breaststroke, senior Anika Ellingson finished first in 1:07.52, and Breay followed in second with a time of 1:10.55.
Sophomore Katherine Heeres added a close first-place finish for Hillsdale, in the 100 backstroke, with a time of 1:00.28, while junior Bailey Bickerstaff took third in 1:01.87.
“It’s always a little difficult to know what to expect going into the first meet of the season,” Heeres said. “Coach really encouraged us to just do our best and have fun, and I think we did that pretty well.”
In the 500 freestyle, sophomore Hannah Wilkens took second place with a time of 5:30.32. Freshman Stephanie Walker made her college debut with a third-place finish in 5:31.73.
Heeres took second in the 200 individual medley with a time 2:16.30, while Ellingson took third with a time of 2:18.78.
The Hillsdale “A” team, consisting of Heeres, Ellingson, Voisin, and DeTar, took first in the 200 yard medley relay with a time of 1:50.76. The Chargers’ “B” team, featuring Boyle, sophomores Mary Vita and Emma Rao, and DeTar, finished third in 1:52.77.
“Obviously times will improve as the season progresses, but I think we all came out of the meeting feeling good about where we started out,” Heeres said. “Now we just have to buckle down and continue to work hard throughout the rest of the season.”