The Record

Swimmers shine at conference

By: Anna Brackin

The CSB and SJU swimming and diving teams ended their regular seasons at the MIAC Championships, where they took fifth and fourth place respectively.

“Probably one of the most successful moments in my coaching career,” Blazers Head Coach Kathy Walker said. “We had four school records broken, the most in any year, and we outperformed our highest expectations for the year.”

The CSB swim and dive team had many impressive times breaking four school records, which helped it to a fifth place finish. Leading the Blazers was the 400-meter freestyle relay team of sophomore Carolyn Triggs, and first-years Mary Wood, Isabel Pennings and Samantha Kessler, who finished in third place and broke the previous school record with a time of 3:36.55.

“It was a lifetime best across the board for our team,” Walker said. “We’ve had individuals qualify before, but relay teams are a new thing for us.”

Senior Chelsea Jenson captured a fifth place finish in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 2:12.51. Also placing well for the Blazers were first-year Jessi Haider in seventh place for the 1-meter diving competition, senior Abbey Brau in seventh place for the 1650-meter freestyle, Kessler in seventh place for the 100-meter freestyle, and Triggs, who finished in eighth place in the 100-meter freestyle.

“The coaching staff was extremely pleased with the senior leadership,” Walker said.

The Blazers were not alone in their impressive finishes, Johnnies also shone at the MIAC Championships, finishing fourth out of eight teams. Sophomore Wes Schlichting earned All-MIAC honors with a second place finish and an NCAA provisional mark of 444.25 points in the 3-meter dive. Sophomore Josh Seaburg earned his second All-MIAC honor with a second place finish in the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:56.51, while fellow sophomore Jesse Otis earned All-MIAC honors, placing third in the 200-meter breaststroke with a time of 2:09.05.

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