Seniors Lauren Burt, Annemarie Brinkman, Sarah Leitner, Emily Peltier, Catherine Shilka, and Sami Ward competed at the John “Jack” McAvoy Natatorium for the last time this past Friday and ended their home careers by helping to lead the Chargers narrowly past the 8th-ranked Ashland Eagles (112-111).
The meet displayed Hillsdale’s great depth, which saw notable performances from rookie swimmers as well as more experienced athletes. Hillsdale’s top contributors included freshman Zoe Hopkins taking first in the 1000 free, Leitner winning the 200 free, and freshman Sarah Rinaldi leading the field in the 200 IM.
Also vital in clinching the win was sophomore diver Gretchen Geist, whose career-high straight-seven dive gave Hillsdale an edge over the Eagles.
At Hillsdale’s senior night against Ashland, Coach Kurt Kirner was thoroughly impressed.
“With the lineup any other way, we very easily could have lost,” Kirner said.
Ashland is a very good team, and Kirner attributes the win to Hillsdale’s impressive depth. Hillsdale had few first-place finishes, but made up for it with plenty of second- and third-place finishes.
Over Christmas break, the team travelled to Florida for a one-week training trip. From Jan. 3-10, the girls worked the hardest they have all season.
A typical day would include two 2-hour practices, with a few days including a 1-hour lifting session.
Although mainly focused on swimming, the girls also had time to relax. The team spent time bonding on the beach soaking up the sun, as well as making a few trips to junior Megan Smith’s house, eating ice cream, and going out to dinner. According to Rinaldi, after the trip, “we are pretty much ready to go now for the end of season.”
Right after getting back from Florida, the Chargers resumed competition. The Chargers picked up a loss but also notched a victory, losing to the University of Indiana (150-89) while beating William Jewell College (157-61). Despite having no victories in any single events, the Chargers did end up with many second- and third-place finishes. Contributors included Hillsdale’s consistent freshman class as well as seasoned veterans.
Rinaldi took second in both the 200 IM and 200 breaststroke, while Hillsdale’s 400 medley relay (senior Sarah Leitner, sophomore Cayley Cruickshank, sophomore Jennifer Wheeler, and sophomore Rachael Kurtz) and 400 free relay (Ward, junior Hayley Johnson, Burt, and Kurtz) both took second place. Additional second-place finishers included Leitner in the 50 freestyle (25.32), and Geist in the 1-meter diving event (252.00). Following these second place finishers, Hopkins took third in the 1650 free (18:43.22), junior Jordan Rucinski in the 200 and 500 free (2:01.17 and 5:23.91 respectively), freshman Jennifer Wheeler in the 200 fly (2:15.92), Kurtz in the 100 free (:55.3), Rinaldi in the 200 back (2:16.8), and sophomore Ali Bauer in the 200 breast (2:36.11).
The girls will soon begin their taper for the GLIAC conference tournament. To qualify for nationals, each swimmer aims to race at their peak fitness level at GLIACs. After working hard all season and more recently in Florida, the girls will ease off of their training prior to the conference meet.
Rachael Kurtz explained that “depending on whether you’re a sprinter, a middle-distance, or a long-distance swimmer, your taper could be as long as two weeks, or as short as three days. Some girls will choose one week to ease off, but in the end Coach Kirner lets them have the final say.” Kurtz, as a sprinter, prefers a longer taper period and is excited to rest up and prepare for GLIACS.
Kirner is “very optimistic for the end of the season, given how our girls performed at Calvin – an important meet where the girls briefly tapered, which resulted in a few school records and numerous personal/season bests,” he said.
As far as the upcoming conference championships go, Kirner said, “We will need to rely on girls’ 100% best performances more than our depth, which is what let us squeeze by Ashland.”
Kirner “has high expectations for GLIACs, but personal-best performances are more important than a specific ranking for the team overall,” he added.
Hillsdale already has a few girls with B-cuts for nationals, which means they have a strong chance but are not guaranteed to go to nationals. Kirner expects some more girls to get nationals-qualifying cuts, especially Kurtz in the 50 free.
Hillsdale will race against Kalamazoo College on Jan. 26 in their final regular season meet. It will be their last tune-up race before they prepare for GLIACs, which is the most important meet of the season for many of the Chargers.
