This season was a year of records. This season was a thriller, from a record attendance for our intrasquad meet to multiple records broken at nationals. The 22-23 board consisted of a new co-presidency of Tom Mi and Maloree Barbera. The other board members include treasurer Gabe Schultz, secretary Hailey Grandy, Vice President Ian Moore, Men's Captain Tanner Guderian, Women's Captain Avery Updegrove, and Marketing Director Jonathan Wang.
The team started the season with its annual bi-week tryouts. The board separated the swimmers into red and black teams, and everyone got to interact with each other. Not only did the freshmen make new friends, but they also got the opportunity to explore our beautiful campus with the scavenger hunt. The tryout period ended with the intrasquad meet, and everyone got the chance to see where their swim levels are.
After several weeks of training, the team was off to some meets. The Utes were off to CU Boulder, and the swimmers who went got some fast swimming in. After Boulder, ASU was in town for a dual meet. This meet provided an opportunity for those who didn't go to Boulder to get a chance to race in the HPER pool. The following week the Utes faced one of the biggest meets of the season: Western Regionals. Teams from all over the west coast gathered in the HPER natatorium for fast swimming. The Utes placed 3rd overall behind GCU and CU Boulder.
The team had another tryout period when the Utes returned from winter break. Additionally, it was nice to see everyone back in the water after a short break. The Utes went to a few more meets in the spring to solidify times for nationals. In three weeks, the Utes flew to Stanford University, CU Boulder, and ASU. Although everyone was exhausted from traveling three weeks in a row, everyone defiantly got to bond with their teammates and swim some fast times.
When April rolled around, the Utes traveled to the Ohio State University for the 2023 College Club Swimming National Championships. The Utes showed up and performed. The Utes were ranked 14th out of 100 college club swim teams in the United States. There were multiple records broken:
Men’s 100 Free - Tom Mi - 46.51
Men’s 200 Free - Tom Mi - 1:42.91
Women’s 500 Free - Maloree Barbera - 5:22.12
Women’s 1000 Free - Maloree Barbera - 11:02.96
Men’s 200 Back - Alex Cromar - 1:53.88
Men’s 200 Breast - Cameron Wright - 2:14.06
Women’s 100 Fly - Emily Harvey - 59.54
Women’s 200 Fly - Maloree Barbera - 2:16.23
Men’s 200 Free Relay - B. Hinckley, T. McLaughlin, T. Guderian, T. Mi - 1:25.72
Men’s 400 Free Relay - T. Guderian, B. Hinckley, E. Atzet, T. Mi - 3:10.24
Men’s 800 Free Relay - C. Schulz, T. Guderian, T. Mi, S. Farrenkopf - 7:04.87
Women’s 200 Medley Relay - B. Donaldson, J. Bacon, E. Harvey, M. Kelly - 1:52.37
Women’s 400 Medley Relay - B. Donaldson, J. Bacon, E. Harvey, M. Kelly - 4:05.81
Mixed 200 Free Relay - T. Guderian, T. Mi, B. Donaldson, M. Kelly - 1:32.66
The season concluded with the annual team banquet where the board gave speeches highlighting this season’s successes and voted on new members for the upcoming season. The new board members are:
President: Tanner Guderian
Vice President: Jeila Bacon
Secretary: Darcy Cinder
Treasurer: Cameron Wright
Marketing Director: Jonathan Wang
Men's Captain: Sean Farrenkopf
Women's Captain: Bailey Donaldson
The team also voted on team awards and these are recipients:
Female Swimmer of the Year: Maloree Barbera
Male Swimmer of the Year: Tom Mi
Academic Swimmer of the Year: Clista Galecki
Most Improved Swimmer: Ethan Atzet
Rookie of the Year: Diego Fortson
Spirit Award: Chris Schulz
The banquet ended by playing the end-of-the-season slideshow made by Jonathan and Woody to reflect on this season's hard work and to remember the memories everyone made on the team. The new board has begun the transition process and is already prepared to conquer the following season. As always, Go Utes!
