The Chargers swept their Oct. 26 tri-meet, beating Indiana Wesleyan University 189-69 and Bethel College 183.50-70.50.
The Chargers scored in the top three in every event and swept 1-2 finishes in several events.
Head Coach Kurt Kirner said the depth of swimmer talent contributed to their win.
“No matter the competition, each meet gives us the opportunity to improve,” Kirner said. “This meet we had a lot of inter-team races that supplied the competition.”
The Chargers also got to swim some longer events they don’t usually swim, like the 1650, in which freshman Madison Pyhel placed first (18:13.12) and freshman Sarah Clark took second (18:43.13).
Kirner said nobody in the conference had swum the 1650 yet, but both girls had good times, and Pyhel established “what could be the top time in the conference.”
Pyhel said she hadn’t swum the 1650 during her career, so she was very happy to get the points.
“I don’t tend to go above the 500, but my mile was not bad so I think distance events will become my main area of focus,” Pyhel said.
The Chargers also had a strong showing in the shorter races. Senior Bailey Bickerstaff, who just returned to training full-time this week after being diagnosed with mono last month, finished second in the 100 backstroke with a time of 1:03.26.
Bickerstaff said she’s not been able to return to distance races yet, but was happy with her performance in the shorter events.
“I was really happy with how things went, and our coach said I looked healthy in the water,” Bickerstaff said. “My times were a little bit slower, but I’ll take being healthy over being a little bit faster.”
The Chargers also dominated the relays, taking first with a time of 1:51.45 in the 200 medley, and first and second in the 400 freestyle with times of 3:46.60 and 3:48.12 respectively.