The Loggers came out strong again in their second week back after an impactful 2009 season. If their performances are indicative of what is to come this season, the Loggers are well on their way to qualifying for Nationals.
The true test for the Logger swimmers will be maintaining high work ethic and building confidence, not cockiness, in preparation for higher-stakes competition later in the season.
The Logger swim teams cleaned house this weekend against the Willamette Bearcats on Friday and the Linfield Wildcats on Saturday.
On Friday, final team scores reflected the domination both the men’s and women’s swim teams leveled on their competition. The women scored 151-41, while the men scored 130-26 against the Willamette Bearcats.
There were top swimmers in each race, but standout performances came from both the men’s and women’s teams. Highlights of the night included a Logger sweep of the women’s 400-yard individual medley with sophomore Ann Barrington (Lake Oswego, Ore.) (5:03.96) in first, senior Kelsey Elizondo (Salt Lake City, Utah) in second, and sophomore Molly Richardson (Bakersfield, Calif.) in third.
In the men’s 200-yard freestyle, sophomore Nick Burns (University Place, Wash.) (1:55.889) took first place, followed closely by senior Jack Zaharchuk (Portland, Ore.). In the race, Burns bested his personal best recorded time from last year (1:56.03). And in the tightest race of the night, the Logger women won the 100-yard breaststroke by 1.18 seconds, headed by sophomore Tracy Wormwood (Elk River, Minn.) (1:11.62).
The weekend competition continued through Saturday when the teams traveled to Linfield. The Loggers were once again head and shoulders above the competition from the Wildcats as the men scored a 153-46 victory. The women were equally impressive, winning 157-48. Combined, the Loggers scored first place in all but one of the 22 events.
Highlights from the day included Elizondo’s close race in the 100-yard butterfly against Wildcat Natalie Groat. She barely scraped by with a time of 1:02.14, followed by Groat at 1:03.98.
Sophmore Aleksander Jeremic (Skopje, Macedonia) won both the 100-yard butterfly (52.52) and 200-yard freestyle (1:46.93). Junior Adam Ganz (Cleveland, Ohio) won the men’s 50-yard freestyle (22.58) and 100-yard freestyle (50.04). Freshman Teale Kitson (Durango, Colo.) made waves with his first place finish in the 100-yard backstroke (55.39) and 200-yard freestyle (1:49.23).
In one of the closest races of the night, sophomore Max Cohen (Albuquerque, N.M.) beat fellow Logger sophomore Joseph Kalb (Tehachapi, Calif.) in the 100 yard breaststroke by a margin of 24 hundredths of a second (1:06.19. to 1:06.43 respectively)—nothing like friendly competition to keep the Loggers working hard.
Looking ahead, Jeremic said he hopes to “qualify for D3 Nationals at Knoxville, Tennessee in the 100 fly and 200 freestyle.”
This year, the Loggers started training early and aggressively for their competition. But greatness comes at a price. The life of a student-athlete is not all fun and games, as you may think.
Balancing schoolwork and sports is an act only the most disciplined can master.
“Something that can affect my performance is not getting enough sleep because of schoolwork,” Jeremic said.
In these testing times, the Loggers must take good care of their bodies and get back on schedule as soon as they can, because time waits for no one.
Up next, the Loggers travel to the Northwest invitational in Parkland, Wash. next Saturday, Nov. 20.