Over the past weekend, the men’s swim team competed in the SCAC championship, taking home fourth place.
Trinity University took home first place in both the men’s and women’s competition, amassing almost 2,000 points total to capture both titles for the fifth consecutive year.
Junior Crane Sarris put on an impressive individual performance for the Tigers, finishing third in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:42.72. Sarris’ time of 45.83 also put him in second in the 100-yard freestyle.
“Crane Sarris had outstanding swims in the 100- and 200-yard freestyle races,” said sophomore Ian Carey. “He nabbed upper podium spots after missing a good chunk of the season while studying abroad.”
Head Coach Anne Goodman James praised the team’s overall effort, citing multiple individual performances as positive takeaways from the meet.
“Freshmen Drew Ceglinski and Ethan Schick were an integral part of our success and, along with Johannes Mansson, give us a strong crew to build our future around,” said Goodman James. “Drew had the biggest time drops, racing to outstanding swims in the backstroke and IM events. Ethan is our top butterflyer and an important freestyle sprinter as well. He had an impressive final in the 100 fly, and swam to a new lifetime best.”
Although the Tigers failed to qualify for the postseason, the weekend’s meet was marked by personal achievements across the board, with multiple swimmers meeting and exceeding personal goals.
“It was a full team effort with every man on the team scoring points in both individual and relay events, and every man achieving one or more lifetime best performances,” said Goodman James.
The men’s team’s achievements this season came despite a lack of depth on the roster.
“Given our numbers this year, we knew our team rank at the conference meet was going to be a battle,” said Carey. “With only 9 swimmers, our goal was to beat both McMurry and Austin College.”
The Tigers prevailed over both teams in the end, despite Austin College almost doubling them in roster size. Wins over the two schools were especially satisfying after CC conceded defeats to both teams earlier during the regular season.
Moving forward, Carey hopes the team can build off this season’s progress.
“I think the biggest thing the guys can take away from the meet is that trust in the system definitely pays off,” said Carey. “Every conference meet is certainly a reminder that if you follow the program then good things will happen.”
“I was very proud of our team’s performances at the SCAC Championships,” said Goodman James. She praised the teams grit and determination, citing their “gutsy” performance that allowed them to top McMurry and Austin.
Carey hopes the team can add more depth to the program, and build around younger swimmers in the future.
“Right now our biggest weakness is our lack of numbers, so as a team we really need to be sure to portray to recruits the awesome training environment and family-like atmosphere the team provides,” said Carey. “We definitely want to take advantage of ensuring that [prospective students] feel at home when they come to visit.
Although the team’s results in the tournament may not have been ideal, the swimmers and coaching staff maintain a positive outlook on the future of the program.
As Carey put it: “The best things that come out of the conference meet is seeing everyone really grow into their full potential. Ultimately our entire season comes down to one weekend of racing that matters and everyone really showed up.”