Midland Opens Swimming Season with Wins over Saint Mary

FREMONT, Neb. – After a few weeks of delays, Midland University’s swimming season began with a home dual against the University of Saint Mary on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors men and women took advantage of their strength in numbers in the pool, dominating the Spires 146-56 on the women’s side and 169-33 on the men’s.
Midland won all ten events on the men’s side and won nine on the women’s.
The meet began with back to back wins by the Warriors in the 200-yard medley relay. The women’s team of Nerissa Wagner, Gracie Lefholz, Allyse Bell, and Abby Bruck turned in a time of 1:57.75 for the win. The men’s team of Hayden Robbins, Tyler Penney, Gabe Martinez, and Scott Cain had a winning time of 1:38.01.
Lily Harrell would make her mark in her first collegiate meet with a pair of wins in the 200-yard freestyle (2:05.20) and the 100-yard butterfly (1:03.14). Abby Bruck would win the short 50-yard freestyle (26.49) while Kadisyn Kircher won the distance 500-yard freestyle (5:38.62).
Faith Guyer won her first collegiate race with a win in the 200-yard individual medley (2:15.99). She also set a new school record for the event as well.
Scott Cain would pace the men in the first block of individual races, winning both the 50-yard freestyle (21.05) and the 100-yard freestyle (48.15). JD Gagner won the longer 200-yard freestyle (1:55.23) while Caleb Miller won the 500-yard freestyle race (5:06.08). In the 200-yard individual medley, Tyler Penney was the first to touch (1:59.53) and Gabe Martinez won the 100-yard butterfly (53.09)
In the women’s 200-yard freestyle relay, Kadisyn Kircher, Allyse Bell, Abby Bruck, and Nerissa Wagner won the race by over eight seconds with a time of 1:50.14. The men’s team of Jake Bell, Gabe Martinez, Hayden Robbins, and Scott Cain edged out the second group of Warriors with a time of 1:29.05.
Nerissa Wagner picked up an individual win in the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 1:03.78 in the second block of individual races. Guyer would add a second win on the day in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:12.68.
Trevor Edwards was the lone male swimmer to pick up their first individual collegiate win. He did so by winning the 100-yard backstroke with a time of 55.60. Tyler Penney capped off the solo wins with a victory in the 100-yard breaststroke, turning in a time of 58.41.
The final race of the day saw another sweep for the Warriors’ relay teams. The women team featuring freshmen Lily Harrell, Abby Ertz, Anna Lowry, and Faith Guyer won easily with a time of 3:52.94. The men’s team of Timothy Thies, JD Gagner, Joseph Berrick, and Trevor Edwards won by the slimmest of margins, 0.02, over the Warriors’ second-place team.
“These athletes have been working for eight straight weeks and it was rewarding to see our athletes race for the first time in ten months,” commented graduate assistant Cameron Cuda after the meet. “I was proud to be a coach for a team that took extra precautions to ensure the health and safety of all competitors, spectators, volunteers, and staff. We are excited for the season yet to come and all of the improvements yet to be made.”
The Warriors will hit the pool inside the Dillon Family Aquatic Center again next week when they host the men and women from Williams Baptist University along with the women from the University of Nebraska-Omaha. The meet is set for a 4:30 p.m. start in Fremont.
COMBINED RESULTS