On September 29, SU swim team members donned black and yellow pirate-embellished swim caps and dove into the Walzel pool for the Black vs. Gold meet. Team members competed against each other to prepare themselves for future meets against other schools, as well as adjust to having an audience watching them race.

The purpose of this intra-team meet was to build community within the swim team and get them warmed up for the season. 

“Right now, my expectation is really trying to become a family supporting each other,” Coach Jon Duncan said. “We all have bad days, and it’s nice when you come into an environment where people are positive and supportive. That’s what we want.”

Duncan led the gold team, while Assistant Coach Sarah James led the black team. Duncan and James had a draft where they took turns selecting swimmers for their team. 

Leading up to the events, swimmers huddled up for an adrenaline-rushing chant. Team captains led everyone in spelling out “B-U-C-S!” Swimmers danced along the sidelines and talked with their teammates to stay hyped for the meet. 

Swimmers, coaches, and an array of friends and family in the stands stood in solidarity for the national anthem. Then, the swimmers walked with confidence to the diving blocks.

Each event began with the classic “on your mark, get set, BEEP.” At the sound of the buzzer, swimmers dove into the pool to race their fellow teammates. Each swimmer was timed, concluding their event by placing their hands on the touchpads. There were six lanes, and black and yellow flags hovered over each end of the pool.

The meet kicked off with a 200 medley relay, where four swimmers took two laps of different strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle respectively. Upon the buzzer, teammates enthusiastically cheered “Go!” along the edges of the pool for their fellow competitors. 

Each event started with women competitors and was followed by male competitors. In between events, swimmers relaxed in the small hot tub.

There are a few highlights from the results of the meeting. Elisa Samples, Antonia Leese, Ella Bonvillian, and Delaney Anthony swam the women’s 200-yard medley relay with a time of 1:54.09. Kevan Kennedy swam the men’s 100-yard butterfly with a time of 53.91. Griffin Salinas took first place in 1-meter diving, with a score of 202.45. Dylan Sullivan, Cooper Wilson, Alex Avila, and Jorge Mendiola placed first in the men’s 200-yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:21.79 (see the end of the article for the rest of the results).

 After the swim portion of the meet concluded, it was time for divers to compete. 

Divers took turns gracefully flipping and diving off the board one by one, as the coaches sat beside the pool and held up numbers for each score. Teammates encouraged each other after every dive. Each dive was announced by dive team manager, Ziva Jacot.

The roster for this swim season has new talent on both the women’s and men’s teams, with many first-years and sophomores. The team appears to have already formed a close bond, even outside of practice, and as the season progresses they hope to continue to grow closer. The women’s roster and men’s roster are both on the swim and diving team website. 

Senior swim team captain Jess Karli is looking forward to a great season.

“Being on this team has made this experience at Southwestern and is the reason I’ve stayed here,” Karli said. “I’m just so excited to go into the season and lead the team and have fun with them and swim fast.”

The swim and diving team has more exciting events to look forward to, such as the Colorado Springs meet in late October. It’s a “family rivalry” meet, as Duncan describes it because James’ mother is the coach of the Colorado Springs team. The swim team captains share the same enthusiasm for that upcoming meet. According to Duncan, the Trinity meeting on January 20 is also something to look forward to. To stay updated for the rest of the swim season, go to the 2023-2024 swim schedule.

Any other information on swimming and diving can be found on the men’s or women’s homepage.

Results:

Event 1: Women 200 Yard Medley Relay

1st Place – Elise Samples, Antonia Leese, Ella Bonvillian, Delaney Anthony (Gold Team)

Final Time – 1:54.09

Event 2: Men 200 Yard Medley Relay

1st Place – Andrew Renninger, Hayden Silkenson, Kevan Kennedy, Sebastian Ortiz (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:41.01

Event 3: Women 150 Yard Freestyle 

1st Place – Delaney Alt (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:33.05

Event 4: Men 150 Freestyle 

1st Place – Kevan Kennedy (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:20.20

Event 5: Women 50 Yard Freestyle 

1st Place – Emma Williams (Black Team)

Final Time – 26.00

Event 6: Men 50 Yard Freestyle 

1st Place – Eli Allen (Black Team)

Final Time – 22.51

Event 7: Women 100 Yard IM

1st Place – Annie LeBlanc (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:04.26

Event 8: Men 100 Yard IM

1st Place – Jorge Mendiola (Gold Team)

Final Time – 57.77

Event 9: Women 1 Meter Diving 

1st Place – Cidette Rice (Black Team)

Final Score – 159.10

Event 10: Men 1 Meter Diving

1st Place – Griffin Salinas (Black Team)

Final Score – 202.45

Event 11: Women 100 Yard Butterfly

1st Place – Jackie Vargas (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:02.96

Event 12: Men 100 Yard Butterfly 

1st Place – Kevan Kennedy (Black Team)

Final Time – 53.91

Event 13: Women 100 Yard Freestyle

1st Place – Emma Williams (Black Team)

Final Time – 58.05

Event 14: Men 100 Yard Freestyle

1st Place – Sebastian Ortiz (Black Team)

Final Time – 50.63

Event 15: Women 100 Yard Backstroke

1st Place – Elise Samples (Gold Team)

Final Time – 1:02.07

Event 16: Men 100 Yard Backstroke 

1st Place – Andrew Renninger (Black Team)

Final Time – 56.81

Event 17: Women 300 Yard Freestyle 

1st Place – Delaney Alt (Black Team)

Final Time – 3:22.28

Event 18: Men 300 Yard Freestyle

1st Place – Nick Freeman (Gold Team)

Final Time – 2:55.10

Event 19: Women 100 Yard Breastroke 

1st Place – Antonia Leese (Gold Team)

Final Time – 1:09.24

Event 20: Men 100 Yard Breastsroke 

1st Place – Jorge Mendiola (Gold Team)

Final Time – 1:02.86

Event 21: Women 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1st Place – Maysen Huack, Delaney Alt, Annie LeBlanc, Emma Williams (Black Team)

Final Time – 1:45.55

Event 22: Men 200 Yard Freestyle Relay

1st Place – Dylan Sullivan, Cooper Wilson, Alex Avila, Jorge Mendiola (Gold Team)

Final Time – 1:21.79