Swim teams shock MWC foes at championship

Men place second and women claim fourth, goals reached

By: Ian Van Anden
Sports Editor

The swim season has come to a close with the 2007 Midwest Conference championship Friday through Sunday, Feb. 9-11. Monmouth College was responsible for much of the moving and shaking that happened this year. The women’s team was the biggest story, as they finished in the top half of the conference at fourth place. The men also performed well, placing second.

The women beat out the Lake Forest College team by just one point, 410-409. According to the team’s head coach, Keith Crawford, “Ironically, the difference ended up being our collective depth. It was the first time we had an individual score high in all of their individual events.”

A key competitor for the women was sophomore Sarah Christensen. In her individual events, Christensen was outstanding. In the finals of the 200-yard breaststroke she finished seventh with a time of 2:43.04; earlier in the weekend, Christensen placed 14th in the 50-yard freestyle. Her best performance came in the 100-yard breaststroke, where she placed second in just 1:11.51.

Christensen was part of the successful relay team for the women. Joining Christensen were freshmen Laura Miller and Anne Lane, as well as junior Megan Wentzlaff. This foursome grabbed a second place finish, a third place finish and a fourth place finish.
It was the team’s performance in the 200-yard medley relay which Crawford called the “wow moment” of the Conference championship. It was in this event that the women laid claim to their highest relay finish, second.

Lane had a solid weekend for the Scots. She had a time of 5:29.02 in the 500-yard freestyle event, which was good enough for fourth place. Then in the 100 yard butterfly, she placed third, with a time of 1:01.87, just a tenth of a second behind second place. Lane also placed third in the 200-yard butterfly with a time of 2:18.46.

Miller, according to Crawford, was a huge addition to the team. “Getting her back in the water greatly improved our team, especially in the relay. It allowed me to put the team in an even better position to have success.”

Miller’s success spread to individual events as well. She placed eighth in the 200-yard backstroke finishing, in just 1:08.63 and then placed 13th in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 59.80.

At the end of the championship, it came down to the pure drive and talent of the nine women on the roster. They simply out-swam Lake Forest in the end, top to bottom, which gave them the edge at the end of the day. The best news is that the team will be returning most of their swimmers next year.

As for the men, their second place finish was nothing to ignore. In just three years of existence, the swim program has completely changed the landscape of the Midwest Conference.

The men’s relay teams, much like the women’s, had much success. Two juniors, Daniel Campione and Kurt Niemeier teamed up with two freshmen, John Kaiser and Matt Travnik. These four competed together in two separate events. First, in the 200-yard freestyle relay, the men placed third in a time of 1:28.70. Then, in the 400-yard freestyle relay, they again captured third with a time of 3:19.25.

Other relay teams performing strong for the men were the 800-yard freestyle relay squad, which placed third. Three freshmen, Josh Van Swol, Ed Novak and Travnik teamed with sophomore Jim Travnik in the event. Campione, Kaiser and Niermeier teamed with freshman Jonathan Peterson to finish second in the 200-yard medley relay. These four also placed second in the 400-yard medley relay.

The team’s biggest showing came in the 400-yard individual medley (IM), where they had four gentlemen place in the top-14. Matt placed second in the event with a time of 4:30.07. Fellow freshmen Harrison Heilman, Jack Clifford and Joe Moran placed sixth, eighth and 12th respectively. Junior Ryan Bouwman place 13th.

Campione and Niemeier stole the show for the men. Campione had four top five finishes, which included a championship showing in the 100-yard backstroke, an event he finished in 55.20 seconds. In the 200-yard backstroke Campione finished second. He then placed fourth in the 200-yard IM.

As for Niemeier, he also captured a conference championship, in the 50-yard freestyle. In the event, Niemeier finished in 21.90 seconds. He grabbed another first place and conference championship in the 100-yard freestyle, which he finished in 48.07 seconds. The junior placed third in the 200-yard freestyle, with a time of 1:46.09.

With the season now concluded, Crawford has already shifted his focus to next year and recruiting. The only graduating athlete on both the men’s and women’s sides is senior Brian Kura. Kura, who Crawford describes as “good leader” swam “off events” at the Conference championships, giving the team and himself a shot at extra and needed points. In one of these events, the 200-yard backstroke, Kura placed 12th.

So, with two very strong teams returning next year, Crawford, the men and women have a bright future. At the end of the conference meet, Crawford was named the Men’s Coach of the Year. This off-season, Crawford will try to build the depth and talent of both his squads. “We met our goals this year.” Crawford said, but he still wants more, “We need to do a better job of maximizing our potential with our current swimmers. Even with next year’s freshmen group.”