The Hillsdale College swim team matched last year’s sixth place finish at the GLIAC Championship, Feb. 8-11, in Jenison, Mich. The team outperformed the 2011 team, however, with almost every returning woman swimming faster than last year and more athletes earning B-cuts for the national meet.
“Most of our athletes had lifetime bests,” head coach Kurt Kirner said.
Among those lifetime-best times were 11 new schools records. The women also earned B-cuts — provisional qualifying times for nationals — in 14 events.
The team finished sixth with 333 points, 36 points behind Ashland University, a team they defeated earlier this season.
“It was disappointing in that we didn’t get to move up a place,” sophomore Becca Remmes said. “But everyone swam so well I really couldn’t ask for any better.”
The highlights of the meet included freshmen Jordan Rucinski and Rachel Kurtz’s record-breaking performances. Rucinski set the school record in the 500- and 1000-yard freestyle while Kurtz did likewise in the 50- and 100-yard freestyle.
“I was just excited for my first GLIAC championship,’ Rucinski said. “I was really excited when I did break the record. It was unexpected. I didn’t set that as a goal — it was kind of a bonus on top of a best time.”
Other record-breaking swims included Remmes in the 100-yard backstroke; senior Linda Okonkowski in the 200-yard butterfly and the 400-yard individual medley; and four of the five relays team: the 200-yard, 400-yard and 800-yard freestyle relays, as well as the 200-yard medley relay.
“Me and Alicia [Leduc] have been working on my start,” Remmes said. “I hadn’t got a best time in a while so I was really happy with how it turned out.”
While many of the team’s B-cuts most likely won’t qualify for the national meet at Mansfield Natatorium in Dallas, Texas, the eligible swimmers will continue practicing. The team won’t know who will be invited until Feb. 29. Three-time national-qualifier Okonkowski is Hillsdale’s most probable qualifier.
“The 200 fly looks pretty promising,” Okonkowski said. “We won’t officially know until the end of February. It’s a nerve-racking process”
Kirner was quick to credit Okonkowski.
“She finds a way to go fast. This year she dropped her time in the 200 fly by 1.5 seconds,” Kirner said. “It speaks directly to her work ethic.”
Okonkowski said the season, though not yet over for her, was a very successful one for the swimming and diving program.
“It was by far the best GLIACs ever,” Okonkowski said. “It was my best season, not just in terms of times but in getting to know my teammates.”
The Chargers are all but finished with a long season, but they won’t be resting long. In just a few weeks the team will be back in the weight room training for next season.
