The swim team put up a fight yet fell to Swarthmore during an away meet Saturday, Jan. 25. The women’s team was steadfast and lost by less than 20 points, as they fell by 119-100. Falling by 106-79, the men’s team worked hard and captured individual achievements.
Junior Evan Strickland placed first in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:02.99. Strickland was also victorious in the 100-yard freestyle, placing first and reaching the wall in 50.05 seconds.
Freshmen Hassan David Goines Jr. and Bobby Schmidt added drive to the races. Goines broke the 400-yard Individual Medley record with an exceptional time of 4:39.37. Goines also placed third during the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 2.01.61.
Schmidt placed third in the 100-yard freestyle, with a time of 2:01.61.
The women’s side, led by junior Morgan Griffith and Breaghann Smith, propelled the races forward. Griffith finished in second place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 58.65 seconds. Smith clinched third place in the 200-yard freestyle in 2:12.72.
Griffith expressed that teamwork and camaraderie fueled the races as she said, “Yesterday’s meet was tough but everyone did well and pulled through. As a team we stuck together and cheered each other on. It’s been a rough couple of weeks, but Cindy, Kevin and Tim [the coaches] kept us going, as they always do, giving us the positive encouragement that we need.”
Smith said, “Although we did not win yesterday, many people on the team had some really good swims. One of our swimmers, Hassan Goines, even got a new team record in the 400 IM. The fact that many of us were able to race so well is really exciting because we have been doing some heavy training over the past month and we are pretty worn down and tired. Our effort yesterday was a good indicator that we will do well in our championship meet in February. I am excited to see how fast we will swim at our championships in Grove City!”
The Cavaliers will travel to Ocean County College on Saturday, Feb. 1. This meet marks the last competition in the regular season. Races begin at 11 a.m. in Tom’s River, N.J.
