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The Billiken swimming and diving team finished their season this week with the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships in Geneva, Ohio. The women’s team scored 185 points and placed ninth among 11 teams. The men’s team scored 386.5 and was sixth out of seven teams.
The Billikens’ top performer was sophomore Stephen Hansen. Hansen received a gold medal for his first place finish in the 100-yard backstroke. His time of 55.34 beat Ripley Danner of St. Bonaventure by seven hundredths of a second. The race was a highlight for Hansen in his short college career.
“To have your teammates there cheering for you is special and I felt that all the hard work was paying off. At first, it was almost surreal. Two years ago I would have never seen myself where I am today,” Hansen said.
For the women’s team, sophomore Morgan Peterson made the biggest splash, coming away with three bronze medals. She took third place in the 200-yard individual medley, the 100-yard butterfly and the 200-yard breaststroke.
Despite her performance in those three events, Peterson was most proud of her effort in the women’s 400-yard medley relay. She competed with teammates Taylor Streid, JaLynn Gieseke and Lizzy Osterman. In the event, Peterson bested her own fastest time, impressing herself and her teammates.
As a whole, Peterson was impressed with the team’s showing.
“A lot of school records were broken, which tells me that as a whole we are swimming faster than ever before. A lot of swimmers got personal best times and were happy with their performances. My favorite part of meets is when teammates achieve goal times that they have set for themselves. It is a special victory when you accomplish a personal goal you have set for yourself,” she said.
While two SLU sophomores were enjoying new highs in their careers, one senior was experiencing her last competitive event. Taylor Streid had fun cheering on her teammates and setting some personal bests as well.
Streid reflected on the championships and the team’s showing saying, “I think that the season ended very well. People at the Atlantic 10 conference [meet] were impressed with how we swam and I feel like we made a statement that we aren’t going away. It was amazing to be able to cheer everyone on in the finals and compete.”
Now that her four years of eligibility are up, Streid has a chance to evaluate her time at SLU and the place that the swimming team is in now.
“It was great to be a part of the SLU swimming and diving team and I think in the years to come we will just keep improving. I will miss this team so much because they are like my family and I am so very proud of how hard they worked and what they achieved,” she said.
The Billiken swimming and diving team will now get a few weeks off before returning to off-season practices. The new season starts in August.
