Swimming Pool
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Senior Makayla Hanna led Hillsdale’s club swimming team, placing fifth in the women’s 200 breaststroke with a nationals qualifying time of 2:40 at a regional competition Nov. 8-9.
Five Hillsdale students traveled to Columbus, Ohio, to compete against roughly 800 athletes at the College Club Swimming’s Central Regional Championship. The team was composed of seniors Hanna, Isaac Myhal, and Alba Padron, along with junior Dylan Glover and sophomore Julia Jones. The two-day competition took place at Ohio State University’s McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion.
Hanna, vice president of club swimming, also placed 10th in the 50 breaststroke in 33.78 and 12th in the 100 breaststroke in 1:12.
“It’s a lot of fun to be back competing,” Hanna said. “I think after high school, I wasn’t sure when I would compete again, if it would be like post-college on my own, but it’s great to be with the team and travel with the team.”
Hillsdale’s team competed in preliminary rounds on Saturday and Sunday, and top scorers advanced to finals on the corresponding nights.
The 500 and 1000 freestyle however, are time-final events, taking place only in the morning. Padron swam the 500 free, finishing in 9:27 and placing 18th.
“In between the first rounds and the finals, we had a three-hour break to go get lunch and to wander around,” Jones said. “On Saturday, we went back to the hotel, and I scrambled to do some Josephus reading, and some of the other members took some naps, which was great for recharging.”
Jones joined club swimming her freshman year and said the club has become her favorite extracurricular because it offers a much needed break from school. She swam a personal best time in the 100freestyle in 1:06.
“It’s a little intimidating because for many of the teams there were 30-plus people, and for Hillsdale, we only had five people in total,” Jones said. “So, except for warm-ups, we were joining other teams, just jumping in, doing starts, and practicing.”
Glover, president of club swimming, said he started the club his freshman year with the help of juniors Nick Rutkoski, Finn Fleischer, and Hayden Stolzenberg. He set college career bests in the 50 freestyle in 26.39, the 100 freestyle in 59.02, and the 500 freestyle in 6:18.
“I was most pleased with my 100 free time,” Glover said. “Although it wasn’t a great swim in terms of technique, I swam it much faster than I was expecting, which showed me that I have a high ceiling for that event in terms of improvement. I was most glad that we were all able to perform so well and grow together as a team.”
Club swimming welcomes swimmers of all levels, according to Glover.
“Working with the team and watching it grow has been a highly formative experience in my life,” Glover said. “It has taught me how to lead in many respects and how to work together in a team environment. The friendships we form as swimmers and the competitive nature of practice are some of the best parts about being on the team. We race each other constantly and are always pushing each other to be better, work harder, and to win.”
Club swimming holds three practices every week to encourage training together and getting more students involved in the club, according to Hanna. The club started competing for Hillsdale last fall.
“It’s a great opportunity for people who are either interested in getting better at swimming or have competed in the past and have missed that aspect of their lives and want to come back to it,” Hanna said. “It’s been very nostalgic for me coming back and just very cool. I never thought I’d be doing this in college. So it’s been a lot of fun.”
