The Patriot League men’s and women’s swimming and diving championships ran from Feb. 21 to Feb. 24. For the Colgate University men’s and women’s teams, the events from the championship weekend were a beacon of future success and growth in the coming years.
The men’s team finished ninth out of 10 teams, tallying up a total team score of 296 points. Despite ending up lower than they might have wanted to, there were plenty of standout moments from the weekend that left the Raiders with a lot to look forward to in the coming years. Perhaps the brightest spots for Colgate came from two first-years, JD Suarez and Jack Shurtz-Ford, who were both among the top scorers for men’s swim throughout the weekend. Suarez placed 12th overall in the 200 backstroke, and Shurtz-Ford put in a phenomenal time for the 100-meter freestyle at 44.85, setting a program record for the event.
There is, naturally, a lot of weight put into the Patriot League Championships, but the rest of the season is just as important. For Raiders men’s swim, it was another mixed bag. They went 2-6 in the season, but there were plenty of individual and team highlights interspersed throughout, which pointed towards the team’s upward trajectory.
Junior Morgan Cecil reflected back on the season as one to remember.
“It was definitely my favorite season thus far in my career at Colgate. It was so much fun for me to see the team grow to what it should be and also watch everyone have so much success,” Cecil said. “I also loved being able to compete at dual meets throughout the season. I am probably the proudest of a few dual meets where I placed well and scored points for the team.”
Cecil spoke highly about the team’s dual meets throughout the season, pointing out that some of his best individual accomplishments came from them.
“There is something so different and fun about the dual meets [we had] through the season. [The meet against] Holy Cross in January was incredible. I came in third in the 200 butterfly and fourth in the 100 butterfly in some really competitive heats. Our meet against Hamilton was also very fun; I placed second in the 200 IM, finishing after my teammate, [sophomore] Ryan Jee, and third in the 100 Breast,” Cecil said.
Cecil also discussed the balance of being a student-athlete at a place like Colgate, where both academics and athletics are particularly rigorous.
“It’s a super long season and very taxing both mentally and physically. We start our 20-hour weeks at the beginning of the year and don’t stop until the very end. I have gone through the same training schedules for the past three years, so I can usually predict what will happen next, which makes it less stressful. It sounds weird to phrase it as a sort of ‘wisdom’ or experience, but it’s a big part of it,” Cecil said.
The Colgate women’s swim and dive team put in a solid showing during the championships, coming in seventh place out of ten teams with a final tally of 521 points over the course of the weekend. In a similar fashion to the men’s team, there were lots of individual bright spots that prompted optimism for next year. First-year phenom Lucy Art placed third in the 100-meter freestyle event with a time of 50.45, making her the first podium finisher for the Raiders since 2014.
Senior Brooke Garretson gave it her all in her last undergraduate season with the Raiders, taking the top spot in the B final of the 200-meter backstroke with a time of 2:01.56. She reflected back on some of the best moments from the season.
“This has been one of my best seasons yet. It was very exciting to score points for our team at conference, and to be a part of relays that placed higher than we have in a long time. I also had the honor of receiving All-Patriot League Second Team along with my teammate, Lucy Art. We were both very grateful for this and I hope that our team continues to improve in the league standings as we move forward to next year,” Garretson said.
Garretson spoke with optimism about the road ahead for the team. She stressed the importance of keeping the team’s goals at the forefront of their culture, just as much as the individual goals are.
“With the team growing in size every year since I have been here, it’s always important to create a great team culture during practice and make sure that we all share common goals for the end of the season, not only about individual performance, but as a whole team, as well,” Garretson said.
Sophomore Reilly Brennan battled injuries throughout the season and spoke about overcoming that adversity as a point of individual pride when looking back on her season.
“Individually, I am most proud of how I navigated the season after coming off of an injury — hip labrum tear – this past summer. I stayed dedicated to my [rehabilitation] throughout the season, and I think I got better at listening to my body and communicating with the coaches about what I needed on a given day,” Brennan said.
As she looks towards the future, Brennan talked about her goals for the 2024-25 season, having learned a lot about herself as an athlete both in and out of the pool.
“A personal goal for me for next year is to get back to my best times. Like I said, coming off of an injury, this year for me was more about building myself back up and learning what type of training works well for me, but next year, I hope to see some training consistency start to pay off,” Brennan said.
Lastly, Brennan spoke on the team’s accomplishments on the whole. Just like her teammate, Garretson, she remains positive about what the future holds for the team.
“As a team, this year was an incredible growth year, beating [other] teams we hadn’t beaten in years. For next year, I hope we continue to close the gap between us and the teams at the top of the league. I also hope to continue the good energy and integrate the incoming [first-years] into our family-like culture,” Brennan said.
The road to next season is a long one, but all signs are pointing towards a season that builds on the successes of the previous ones. With so much young talent, the potential is there; it’s only a matter of time before the results start rolling in.
