The Pioneers swept Colorado Mesa on Friday, Jan. 19, as the women won all 13 events, and the men won 9 of their events to secure the win over Colorado Mesa. Sophomore Josie Valette (Boulder, Colo.), redshirt-junior Heidi Bradley (Victoria, B.C.) and junior Courtney Laird (Overland Park, Kan.) helped lead the women with wins in the 100 fly, 100 back and 100 breast, while on the men’s side, sophomore Peter Webster (Odense, Denmark), redshirt-freshman Stephen Calkins (Calgary, Alberta) and sophomore Jesse Haraden (Ballston Spa, N.Y.) racked up points through wins in the 100 free, 100 back and 1000 free.
Denver began its dominance in the 100 fly, with Valette finishing in 57.17, while senior Ben Ussery (Austin, Texas) finished in second, with a time of 51.65.
DU swept the 100 free events, with freshman Aysia Leckie (Georgetown, Ontario) finishing in 52.46, sophomore Sarah Lingen (Maple Grove, Minn.) placed second with a 53.15 and junior Bailey Andison (Smiths Falls, Ontario) touched third with a time of 53.21. For the men, Peter Webster touched first in 46.70, senior Anton Loncar (Hillsboro, Ore.) was second in 47.20 and freshman Emmett Wayte (Seattle, Wash.) was third with a time of 47.66.
Bradley handily won the 100 back with a time of 57.62. Junior Annelyse Tullier (Dallas, Texas) finished second with 58.48. For the men, Calkins touched first with 49.70, while freshman Cameron Auchinachie (Binghamton, N.Y.) touched second with a time of 51.97.
Senior Maddie Myers picked up her second win of the meet in the 500 free with a time of 5:05.11. Denver’s men swept the top four spots in the distance race, with sophomore Colin Gilbert (Kamloops, B.C.) touching first in 4:37.40, junior Kyle Ewoldt (San Jose, Calif.) touching second in 4:40.81, senior Alex Walton (Boulder, Colo.) placing third in 4:47.32 and Haraden coming in fourth with a time of 4:48.46.
Denver finished the meet with relays, where both men’s and women’s relay team lineups were changed as a way of challenging their swimmers to improve individually. In the women’s 200 medley, Bradley, sophomore Taylor Stoll (Hartland, Wis.), Andison and Lingen won with a time of 1:46.57. The men’s medley team, which finished in 1:34.36, included freshman Trent Panzera (Gauteng, South Africa), freshman Cy Jager (Moscow, Idaho), freshman Andrew Brown (Vero Beach, Fla.) and freshman Jackson Gainer (San Jose, Calif.).
Denver closed out its home meets with Senior Saturday, on Jan. 20. Denver Women’s swimming fell to Utah 151-149. Myers won three events, including 1000 free and the 200 free. Denver men also fell to Utah 173.5-126.5, but set two new pool records. Sophomore Sid Farber (Portland, Ore.) set a new record in the 50 freestyle sprints with a time of 19.98, and redshirt-freshman Stephen Calkins (Calgary, Alberta) set a new record of 1:38.58 in the 200 free. Farber broke a school record that was previously held by Assistant Coach Kyle Robrock, while Calkins broke his own record.
Seniors Myers, Hannah Bradford (Centennial, Colo.), Larissa Grammer (Olathe, Colo.), Karly Haraden (Ballston Spa, N.Y), Morgan McCormick (Golden, Colo.), Morgan Wice-Roslin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Ray Bornman (Mackay, Queensland), Loncar, Jared Smith (Boulder City, Nev.), Ussery and Walton were honored during the meet for their contributions to the swimming program.
