Last weekend, the Hillsdale College swimming team traveled to Greencastle, Indiana, to compete in the final meet before the G-MAC championship. The Chargers beat both DePauw and Butler Universities in the two-day invitational.
Freshman Caroline Holmes won the 200 IM in 2:10.09, and split a lifetime best time in the B-relay of the 200 freestyle in 24.83 seconds. She won the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:54.21, the 200 backstroke with a time of 2:04.67, and the 100 backstroke in 58.38 seconds. Holmes set pool records with her 200 freestyle swim, her 200 backstroke swim (which was a lifetime best time), and her 100 backstroke swim.
Holmes went on to win G-MAC Swimmer of the Week for her impressive performance. She said she was excited about her performance last weekend as well as the performance of the team as a whole.
“It’s nice to know that all the hard work, soreness, and exhaustion are paying off,” Holmes said. “We did really well as a team. We won and most people, if not everyone, got season best times which is really important leading into G-MAC’s.”
The Chargers achieved 1-2-3 finishes in both the 500 freestyle and the 200 backstroke. All three swimmers in the 500 freestyle finished within a second of each other, with sophomore Leah Tunney finishing first in 5:14.52, followed by sophomore Madison Pyhel (5:14.89), and sophomore Sarah Clark (5:15.50).
Holmes finished first in the 200 backstroke, with senior Katherine Heeres placing second in 2:07.01, and Tunney placing third in 2:08.50.
Sophomore Sarah Clark placed first in the 1000 with a lifetime best of 10:42.81. Pyhel placed second and also set a season-best time in 10:43.40. Tunney placed fourth with a time of 10:58.64.
Freshman Cecilia Guadalupi placed first in the 200 backstroke in 2:27.97 and junior Madeline Breay placed second in 2:30.21, improving by more than seven seconds and setting a season-best time.
The Chargers excelled in the relays with the 400 freestyle A-relay of sophomore Marie Taylor, Tunney, Heeres, and Holmes placing first with a time of 3:34.60. The 200 Medley A-relay of junior Taylor Boyle, Heeres, Taylor and senior Emma Rao finished a close second in 1:48.73. The 400 Medley A-Relay of Boyle, Heeres, Tunney, and Pyhel finished second in 3:59.90, and the 200 freestyle A-Relay of Taylor, Tunney, Rao and Guadalupi placed second in 1:38.32.
Taylor said results of this meet will improve the seed times of the G-MAC championships.
“It put our seed times for the conference meet a lot higher than they were before. We got to see a sneak peek for what’s gonna happen in the next few weeks,” Taylor said. “This is definitely an individual-heavy sport but the team aspect is still super important.”
Head coach Kurt Kirner was proud of his team’s hard work and compared the meet to a “dress rehearsal” before the G-MAC championships.
“In three weeks we’re going to be at the conference championship and you just need an experience like this to get ready,” said Kirner. “It’s like a dress rehearsal. They got a chance to go to a 10-lane pool, first day two other teams, second day only DePauw. Because of that, we were able to build time between every event.”
Looking to the G-MAC championship at the end of the month, Kirner emphasized the importance of the team’s health.
“They need to get enough rest,” Kirner said. “The most important thing is for them to stay healthy. They can’t afford to get sick.”
The Chargers will not be competing in any meets until March 30, when they head to Canton, Ohio, to compete in the four-day long G-MAC/MEC Championships. The Chargers will be entering the meet with an undefeated record and looking to defend their title as the reigning team champions.
“Right now, our minds are just focused on G-MACs,” said Holmes. “One more push of training then we hit taper, back down on yardage, and focus more on race plans, pace, and getting fast.”
