Colgate University’s swimming and diving team seemed to do it all this past weekend at the Patriot League Championships, posting record-breaking finishes, podiums and awards. The team’s successes in their last meets of the season, from Feb. 19 to Feb. 22, represent the upward climb the program has made after facing disappointing seasons in the past few years.
On the women’s side, the Raiders took home bronze in the 400 medley relay, securing Colgate’s first podium finish for a relay team since 2014. Junior Audrey Collins, who swims individual and butterfly, earned fourth place in the A final for the 200 individual medley, coming short of third by less than a second. In the 100-yard butterfly, Collins also recorded a top-five finish. On the last day of the championships, sophomore MG King placed second in the 200-yard backstroke.
“I thought the team performed really well this past weekend,” Collins said. “We definitely brought the most energy to the pool deck out of every team, which I think really contributed to our success as a whole.”
Collins said that her favorite moment of the weekend was placing third in the 400 medley relay.
“When we finished the race, the entire women’s team was waiting for us when we got off the bulkhead. Having the whole team there was one of the best feelings in the whole world. Even though there were only four of us in the relay, it felt like the whole team was there with us.”
While the women’s team made impressive waves during championships compared to past seasons, the men’s team made their own statement by recording several program record-breaking times.
They broke a total of three records in the 200 medley relay, 800-yard freestyle relay and 400 medley relay. Jack Schurtz-Ford, a sophomore who swims freestyle and backstroke, tied a program record in the 100-yard backstroke that had been set last year.
Schurtz-Ford, who was also part of the 200 and 400 medley relays, said that the 400 medley relay was one of the most exciting moments for the team during the weekend.
“It energized the team throughout the entire meet,” Schurtz-Ford said. “It was a great way to end the weekend, despite it being filled with ups and downs.”
Casting a cloud over the weekend’s results was a disqualified swim on both the men’s and women’s sides, which cost both teams valuable points. However, according to head coach Ed Pretre, the swimmers’ ability to turn the page and remain focused on the next race is what really defined the team’s performance this weekend.
“There’s tons of grit with them,” Pretre said. “This is a team now that knows one race doesn’t define your meet, knows they can bounce back and is very resilient and tough minded […]. Positively electric, just energy. When you have other teams rooting for you, you know it’s going well.”
Colgate’s swimmers weren’t the only ones rewarded for their efforts this past weekend — Pretre was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year, making him the first swim and dive head coach to receive the award since 2011.
“First of all I was shocked. I really didn’t expect it,” said Pretre after receiving the award. “But I think what meant more to me with the award was the reaction of our athletes when I got it. You see a lot of them in tears and so happy, and it was just hugs all around.”
The award is the cherry on top that symbolizes Colgate’s recent progress in the pool.
“I think it’s the other coaches in the conference recognizing where we were, where we are now and where we’re going,” Pretre said. “Having other teams cheer for us was pretty wild because we’ve just been so uncompetitive for so long that each year we’re closing the gap, and you’re just so happy for it.”
Pretre attributes this new success to the team’s recent cohesion, unselfishness and commitment to one another.
“They just care about each other, which is amazing,” Pretre said. “They pick each other up when they’re down, and in the past it wasn’t like that, it was very different — cold and not supportive, no one was cheering for each other — so we’ve come a long way.”
“Just seeing that culture shift is, well, I think it’s everything,” Pretre continued. “It’s probably the most underrated and overrated word in sports because it really does go a long way.”
