A record-setting performance by sophomore Elijah Sanders was not quite enough for a Wabash swim team victory against Washington University-St. Louis on Saturday. Sanders set a Wabash record with a 9:51.07 in the 1000 freestyle, but the Little Giants lost the dual meet 172-126.
“I knew I swam well, but I really wasn’t even thinking about the record or anything like that,” Sanders said. “Then I heard my time and I was like, ‘That’s pretty good’, but it didn’t even register until a teammate told me I set the record. When I found out, I was pretty ecstatic.”
Sanders snapped Nick Collins’ record of 9:55.93 set in 2000.
Sanders said he was especially surprised because of how difficult it would be to break the 1000 free because it is an event only held in dual meets.
“I look at records and I know it’s in my grasp,” Sanders said. “The 1000 is tough because coach doesn’t let up for the duals. in morning practice, I was sore, tired, and just mad at the world. I really didn’t expect to swim that well.”
Sanders said that Head Coach John Weitz prescribed a new strategy- taking it easy in the first half and finishing strong- on his way to a Wabash record. “In the past, my 1000 just hurt,” Sanders said.
Sanders also finished second in the 500. Sophomore Adam Petro won the 200 backstroke with a time of 1:58.87. Jordan Blackwell and Rob Fozkos and also added second-place finishes in the 100 free and 50 free, respectively, but it wasn’t enough to lift Wabash past Washington.
The diving team had a successful meet. Freshman Cole Hatcher won the one-meter competition with a score of 211.70, barely beating teammate Rob Fenoglio’s score of 210.15. Hatcher also claimed a victory on the three-meter board, scoring 209.55 points. Fenoglio was second with a score of 201.90.
The swimming team has a weekend off before two of the toughest meets of the year: DePauw and the University of Indianapolis.
“Those are two really tough meets, and we’re going to be tired so it’ll be really hard to get ahead,” Sanders said.
Over the next couple weeks, Weitz and the Swimming team will focus on fine-tuning everything in preparation for the tough stretch. “At this point, the conditioning is there,” Sanders said. “So we’re working on our speeds, turns and approaches. Over the next two meets, we’ll need to work on being able to bring our races back, and being ready to finish hard and beat people.