Mustang Swimmers Prepare for Nationals

By Hannah Hecht–The Mustang men and women swimmers are getting ready to cap off a successful season at this year’s NAIA Men’s and Women’s National Swimming and Diving Championships in Oklahoma City March 6-8.

Sophomore Ben Kurz and junior Cole Malin will lead the team on the men’s side, coming off a very successful run at the 2014 Liberal Arts Championships last week. Malin nabbed five medals (three first places, a second, and a third), along with three individual (50-yard free: 21.12, 100-yard free: 46.33, 200-yard free 1:44.35) and two relay school records.

Kurz, last year’s NAIA Nationals seventh place 1650-yard freestyle finisher, came out of the meet with five medals (one first place, three seconds, and a third) and four school records. The pair tied for second in a school record-breaking 200-yard freestyle time of 1:44.35. Kurz, currently ranked fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle, looks to place again this year at Nationals, and hopefully break the 16:31.19 mark that he set last year.

Freshman Tracy Gates will lead the team on the women’s side, coming off of a school record, fifth place 500-yard freestyle swim at Liberal Arts Championships (5:15.42); a fourth place 2:01.69 in the 200-yard freestyle; and a fourth place 1650-yard freestyle swim (18.10.29). She is in good standing to medal at NAIA Nationals with her seventh place rank in the 500-yard freestyle.

At NAIA Nationals, all qualifying swimmers swim in morning preliminaries, and then the top sixteen places get to swim at night in finals. Other swimmers who may get a chance to swim in individual finals include freshman Mikki Suchomel and junior captain Hannah Hecht. Both are coming off of successful races at Liberal Arts Championships, which shot them to sixteenth in the NAIA rankings. Hecht placed fifth in the 200-yard backstroke in a time of 2:13.71, and Suchomel placed sixth in the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 1:09.84.

“I think that Nationals is going to be a great end to one of the best seasons in Morningside swimming history,” says Junior Jamie Fast, “We’ve broken a ton of records, and I think we’re going to break a few more next week. I’m especially optimistic that our women’s team can take down the 800-yard free relay record that’s been standing for ten years.”

 

 

 

Morningside swimmers competing at NAIA Nationals include:

Senior Andy Burnham (medley relays),

Freshman Evelyn Edge (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, freestyle relays),

Junior Jaimie Fast (50 free, freestyle relays),

Freshman Tracy Gates (200 free, 500 free, 1650 free, free relays),

Freshman Hunter Haws (100 fly, 200 fly, medley relays),

Junior Hannah Hecht (100 back, 200 back, 200 IM, medley relays, 800 freestyle relay),

Sophomore Ben Kurz (200 free, 500 free, 1650 free, free relays),

Junior Cole Malin (50 free, 100 free, 200 free, free relays, medley relays),

Junior Taylor McCloskey (200 IM, 100 fly, 200 fly, medley relays),

Sophomore Emma Magsmen (50 free, 100 free, free relays, medley relays),

Freshman Alex Paulsen (100 fly, 200 fly),

Freshman Evan Persson (100 back, free relays, medley relays),

Freshman Marko Spiric (50 free, 100 free, 100 back, free relays),

Freshman Mikki Suchomel (200 IM, 100 breast, 100 free, medley relays, free relays),

Junior James Svoboda (50 free, free relays, medley relays)