By: Joseph Keyser
WEBSTER, NY - The Brockport' Golden Eagles' women's swimming and diving team came in 4th place behind Grove City College, Penn State Behrend and SUNY Geneseo after scoring 431.5 points in the Brockport Early Season Invite on Saturday.
Having a large recruiting class and changing up the methodology of preseason training can create a lot of first-meet jitters for a swim team. But, those jitters never showed up for the Brockport Golden Eagles women's swimming and diving team.
“I’m really happy with a lot of our first years,” Brockport head swimming and diving coach Zack Wahl said. “When you bring in a big recruiting class, you never really know what the dynamic is going to be. I’m really happy with the way a lot of them swam. I think there’s a ton of potential there, and they’re going to be a big part of our success this year.”
Veteran members of the team also recognize the value and potential of this incoming class of athletes.
“I think their impact has been extremely positive,” Brockport junior Addy Martino said. “I haven’t heard complaints. I think they all love swimming. They put their head down, they work. They’re very positive and I really enjoy having them. I want them to succeed and I think they’re going to do great this season with the attitude that they have right now.”
That positive attitude showed itself immediately at this season opener. The meet had an electrifying atmosphere. The crowd was roaring, and the athletes were hyped before the first race even started.
“Today, seeing everybody show up for Brockport felt really good,” Brockport senior Sarah Kilburn said. “Swimming isn’t a very big sport, so we don’t really get a big crowd most of the time. So, having everybody show up for us and cheering for Brockport felt really good.”
It was a good day for Brockport’s 200-yard medley and 200-yard freestyle relay teams. The 200-yard medley relay team of Miya Vitale, Martino, Madeline Erhardt and Kilburn finished in third place with a time of 1:54.74. As for the 200-yard freestyle relay team, Emma Butler, Vitale, Ramos and Kilburn helped the Golden Eagles place in third with a time of 1:47.29.
There were good showings in the individual races as well. Freshman Hannah Ramos placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 2:09.62. Martino finished fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.56 and third in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:37.48. In the 50-yard free style, Kilburn recorded a time of 25.66, placing third and Erhardt swam her 100-yard butterfly in 1:04.31, earning her eighth place. Erhardt also earned eighth place in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:40.91. Hannah Pauly placed seventh in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of 12:33.38. Emi Wilck finished eighth in the 1000-yard freestyle in 13:14.95.
“I was a little off on my best 100 and 200 breast times, but [given how close I was] it’s a good starting point for what I can do and how I can progress throughout the year,” Martino said. “I think the way that the coaches are approaching training this year is absolutely amazing.”
“For the first four weeks, we took the approach of reinforcing technique and skills and focusing on things that are going to be more beneficial in the long term,” Wahl said. “I have five more months to get them into the best aerobic shape of their lives or have the fastest twitch muscles they’ve ever had. But, if we can reinforce good habits and race strategies, that’s what’s going to pay off in the long term.”
Full meet results are available on Meet Mobile.
The Golden Eagles’ next meet is a tri-meet against Alfred University and Alfred State on Saturday, October 26 at 1 p.m. in Alfred.
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