The men’s and women’s swim teams were up against McDaniel College for Elizabethtown College’s Senior Day on Saturday, Jan. 21. The men’s team walked away with the first dual meet tie in the history of the program, and the women’s team took a loss.
Senior Kieran Koehler and first-year Alec Schneider were both top performers for the men’s team, each with three victories against McDaniel.
The meet started off with Koehler, Schneider, sophomore Tommy Kuhn and first-year Casey Marshall winning the 200-yard medley relay at 1:42.32—their fastest time of the season. The B relay team, comprised of sophomores Nick Petrella, Guillaume Gouronc, Ben Spangler and Tristan Koehler, beat McDaniel’s A relay with a time of 1:49.63.
Sophomore Sam Hirshberg took first place in the 200-yard backstroke at 2:18.03, and Koehler took first in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:25.75. Schneider won the 50-yard freestyle with a personal best time of 23.01.
The Blue Jays took the first three spots in the 200-yard backstroke. Hirshberg placed first with a time of 2:18.03, followed by teammates Petrella and first-year Kylar Harvey, respectively.
Koehler had a season best time of 2:25.75 in the 200-yard breaststroke and took first. The Blue Jays swept the top three spots in this event with Spangler and Gouronc placing second and third, with times of 2:28.19 and 2:28.30, respectively.
The senior Blue Jays, Ben Cvach, Koehler, Jake Stonecipher and Ethan Weber, were honored during intermission as part of Senior Day.
Following intermission, McDaniel’s Green Terror won the six individuals events and pulled ahead of Etown when they took first and second in the 100-yard individual medley, the second event of the meet.
The score was 112-125 McDaniel as the swimmers took their marks for the 200-yard freestyle relay.
“When our assistant coach walked up to us at the blocks and told us what we needed to do, I think we got more excited than anything,” Koehler, second leg of the relay, said. “I live for those end-of-meet close relays.”
Along with Koehler, Schneider, Marshall and junior David Foery swam a season best time of 1:31.76 and won the relay by 0.78 seconds. The Blue Jays also pulled in a third for this event, making the score 125-125.
Koehler says he has never been prouder to call himself part of the team.
“We’ve put forth so much effort and dedication this season, and I’m excited to see the result of our training when we hit the pool at champs,” he said.
The women’s team also started off their meet by winning the 200-yard medley relay. Junior Karlie Kimball, junior Dru Schneider, first-year Sara Lingo and sophomore Erika Cole swam this event and finished with a time of 2:04.44. The B relay team, junior Megan Anderson, senior Mariselle Parisi, first-year Maddie Ripley and sophomore Maddie Lasko, took second with a time of 2:06.74.
The Green Terror proceeded to win 11 of the next 12 events. Cole managed to steal first place in the 50-yard freestyle, winning by .14 seconds. Parisi placed second in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 6:01.95.
Lingo also contributed a second place finish in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:21.31 and in the 200-yard individual medley with a season-best time of 2:23.23. Anderson was runner-up in the 100-yard backstroke and had a season-best time of 1:08.36.
The final score of the meet was 149-89, McDaniel. “This meet may not have been the best for many of us, but we still gave it our all, and that’s all that matters,” Cole said. “[Our] team has been putting in so much effort all year, and this effort can be seen in our times throughout the season.”
Parisi’s thoughts reflect those of Cole’s: “We did our best and swam our fastest. I am really proud of my teammates and all that they have accomplished this season so far.”
Parisi and the team are excited for championships and hoping to drop some time.
Sarah Alps, Alyson Courtney, Katie Derreth, Jennifer Lakey and Parisi were honored during intermission for Senior Day.
The men’s and women’s swim teams will close out their dual meet schedule when they travel to Frostburg State University this Friday, Jan. 27.
