Swim Team breaks Records at Conference Championships
The men and women of the swimming team have been working hard since the middle of September in their training in the pool and the weight room. The hard work and dedication to themselves and their teammates was shown this past weekend at their final meet of the season in Garland, Tx at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships.
The Swimmers gathered their gear and got on the bus early Wednesday morning to head to Garland where they would be competing that night for the first session of the meet. With 14 men and 3 women, the team was small but mighty. In the first session, the men’s A and B relay competed in the 200 Medley Relay and the 800 Free Relay. In the 200 Medley, the A relay placed fourth dropping 2.89 seconds off their time, and in the 800 Free, the A relay placed sixth.
Thursday was the first full day with both prelims and finals. The swimmers and the head coach had set the goal to “Make it back for an evening swim in the finals” which was achieved every single day they competed. The men competed in the 200 Free Relay in the finals and placed sixth while dropping 2.73 seconds. Kristina Sullivan also made it to the finals in the 500 Free and placed twelfth overall with a season’s best time of 5:25.81.
Friday was an exciting day for the War Hawk Swimmers. In the prelims session, freshman Caleb Bush broke the 100 yard McMurry breaststroke record with a time of 58.98, which is a 20-year-old record! Later that night Bush placed eighth place overall.
“I’m excited to be a part of McMurry’s history, breaking the record was a long-time goal, but it was a great surprise that I did it this soon!” said Bush.
Several McMurry swimmers made it to the finals. The finals session on Friday night was just as exciting as the morning session. Another McMurry school record was broken by senior Kristina Sullivan who broke the women’s 400 IM with a time of 4:55.53.
Sullivan said, “I was shocked because it was an event, I felt less confident in.” Sullivan said. “I was so happy that I slapped the water. I also rubbed the tattoo on my shoulder as a way of telling my mom how grateful I was to have her spirit with me. I used to break records at my previous university I attended, so the act of breaking a record was not the shock. It was the fact that I exceeded my expectations that I found myself in shock. I did not think I was going to break the record. My original goal was to win the consolation final of the race. Though I got second in the heat, I think that led me to work hard enough where I accomplished what I imagined to be impossible. With this being only my second year here at McMurry, I am very grateful for all the friends I made on the team. I do not think I could’ve achieved the impossible without their support.”
For the final day of the meet, the swimmers were excited and ready to enjoy their last day. In the Saturday prelims, 11 swimmers made it to the finals that night in their individual events. Freshman Noah Biggs made it to the A finals in the 200 yard Breaststroke.
Finals took place Saturday night, and the team was tired but very excited to be swimming in the finals. Biggs placed sixth with a time of 2:12.32. Freshman Lorin Mow had a PR in her 200 Fly and dropped 4.48 seconds off her time from the prelims. Isaiah Narvaez, a sophomore, placed ninth with a PR of 2:04.07. There were several other season best times and person records that were smashed. The men’s 400 Free A relay finished sixth and B relay finished twelfth to finish out the meet. The men’s team finished fifth and the women’s team finished seventh.
The swim team expressed that they were very excited to have their months of hard work pay off and several of them are setting new goals for their next season. It’s a great day to be a War Hawk!