Third event championship concludes sparkling KCACs
FREMONT, NEB. – Book-ending the first event title of the 2022 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships with the last one, Morningside University's men's relay quartet of junior J.R. Albers (Gillette, Wy.), senior James Camp (Brisbane, Australia), sophomore Joe Ciriaco (Papillion, Neb.) and junior Caleb Thomsen (Libertyville, Ill.) closed out a weekend for the history books Saturday, Feb. 5.
Head coach Bryan Farris' men's and women's teams left their mark on the Dillon Family Aquatic Center. The Mustangs set seven school records, won three event titles, and each finished among the top four in the team standings. Mside's men were part of a tense three-team battle with host Midland University and champion Olivet Nazarene University of Illinois en route to placing third and only 10.5 points from runner-up honors. The women rallied to a 318.5-point total for fourth.
"This was one of the best championship meets in the history of this program," Farris unequivocally stated. "Not only did we swim fast, but we also had fun doing it. The men swam lights out, and the women finished the meet like champs. Even though the men were third, the quality showed puts us in a good spot for nationals. The women hung together and found a way to finish fourth. It was just a great set of team efforts by both the men and women."
Mside's 200-yard freestyle relay men's champion crew was the same that stood on top of the awards podium for the final weekend's race. They hit the wall in 3:05.76, a new school, and meet standard. Camp and Ciriaco added a pair of first four efforts in the 100-yard freestyle (Ciriaco – 3rd – 46.57/Camp – 4th – 46.92); sophomore Willy Pinnow (Elkhorn, Wis.) took third in the 200-yard backstroke (1:56.8); senior Ron DeFauw (Rock Springs, Wy.) swam to fourth in the 200-yard backstroke (1:57.46); and senior James Spicer battled to third in the 1650-yard freestyle (17:00) to further spotlight the final day.
The women's Saturday bests occurred in the distance and relay events. Freshman Kristin Verplanke (Queen Creek, Ariz.) placed fourth in the 1650-yard freestyle (18:51.98). The 400-yard freestyle relay group of sophomores Josie Dike (Riverton, Wy.), Mackenzie Campbell (Guthrie Center, Iowa), and Rachel Roose (Waverly, Iowa), and junior Makenna Laher (Omaha, Neb.) touched the wall in fifth (3:46.82).
"Our meet finish was a big step forward, and probably the biggest key was that fact that they trusted the process - many (especially freshmen) have never experienced a three-day meet like this before," Farris said. "Most have had tremendous success during their high school and age group careers, but swimming college requires different demands. And, my training prepares them for a meet like this - holding them back through the season allows them to have significant time drops at the end. I want them to struggle a bit with fast swimming throughout the season so that when it comes time in the end, they'll swim faster than they ever have before and that it all comes together at a time when they want to swim their very best. It can be a little stressful not knowing if this will work. But - once again - by the results of the entire team this weekend - I'd say that the process worked very well… I strive to put all my swimmers in an ideal place to swim as they did."
Morningside prepares for the 2022 NAIA Championships March 2-6 in Columbus, Georgia.