While the heat of Trumbull can be overwhelming for spectators, the heat of competition down on the deck was far greater. With conference championships right around the corner, the pressure was on for these top athletes.
This past Saturday, our very own swim and dive teams hit the pool for their senior meet. Taking on Ohio Wesleyan University, The Big Red blew them out of the water with the final team rankings ending with Denison on top.
The men’s team dominated OWU 172-108, and the women’s team won by a score of 158-106. While the entire team swam an amazing meet, all eyes were on the seniors. Thirteen seniors competed in this bittersweet event, swimming an incredible and emotional race.
Ten men and three women brought the heat and swam their hearts out on their special day. For the men, Kevin Benson (free), Ben Burdick (free), Stuart Hohm (free), Thomas Locke (back/fly), Victor Lowe (free/fly), Liam Marsden-Readford (free/fly), Aaron Saccurato (free/IM/fly), Brandt Swanson (free/fly), Zach Wagner (sprint/free), and Jason Wesseling (back/free) all hit the water. For the women, while fewer in number, brought just as strong a competition. Halli Garza (fly/IM), Ellen Higdon (breast), and Haley Nugent (IM/free) all brought their best with top ranking times and scores.
Ellen Higdon discussed the meet. When asked how the meet went and how her experience over the past four years has been, she had nothing amazing things to say.
“The meet was a lot of fun. We got to do some shortened-distance events and work on speed which is nice since conference is now less than two weeks away.
She also discussed how special senior day was.
“It was great to be recognized as a senior and the parents and underclassmen went all out to make the day special for us with gifts, notes, and a team lunch afterward. All thirteen of us seniors have put our heart and soul into this program for the past four years and it was nice to be thanked for our leadership as captains this year!” she said.
Teammate, Haley Nugent, also had an amazing experience over her past four years here.
“The meet was a nice culmination of my four years of swimming for Denison. It meant a lot to be recognized by my teammates and coaches for the day. I am excited to lead the team into the championship season and represent the Big Red one last time!”
As the seniors move on to the end of their last season as a Big Red swimmer, make sure to wish them the best of luck moving on to conference championships.