Battle with Northern Arizona on Halloween
As sophomore swimmer Marie Mason approached the final 25 yards of her 1,000-yard freestyle, she was on pace to set a school record. With each second, Mason glided through the water and cruised to the wall. As she touched, her time flashed on the University of Idaho Swim Center scoreboard: 10:09.11, a new school record on a historic night for the Idaho Vandals’ swim team.
The Vandals split their Halloween weekend meets, defeating Northern Arizona on Halloween and dropping their Saturday matchup with the University of Denver.
On Halloween night, the Vandals battled powerhouse Northern Arizona, who had dominated Idaho for the last 12 years. However, on this night, the Vandals would not be denied. They roared to a 160-139.5 victory over the Lumberjacks, the first time they had beaten them since December 10, 2012.
Mason was just the beginning of the Vandals’ fantastic night in the pool. Junior Isabelle Borke added another win to her season total, finishing with a 1:51.38 in the 200-yard freestyle. Sophomore Holly Lenarz came in second with 1:52.68.
Juniors Katy Foley and Ginger Kiefer picked up the top two finishes in the 100-yard backstroke with times of 55.68 and 55.76. Kiefer took home first place in the 200-yard backstroke, clocked at 2:01.20. Lenarz continued her strong night, taking the 500-yard freestyle with a mark of 5:00.31, and Mason picked up her second individual win of the day in the 400 individual medley with a time of 4:25.45.
On the diving boards, graduate student Maya Salvitti continued a strong season with a second-place finish in the 3-meter (327.15) and third in the 1-meter (289.13), continuing the great night for the Vandals in their historic victory.
Head coach Mark Sowa was proud of his team for the historic win.
“There’s a lot to digest because it’s a lot of racing in less than 24 hours,” Sowa said after their meet with Denver. “Last night was pretty special. We haven’t beaten that team in about a decade, so that was great. They rose to a tremendous challenge, and they embraced it, and they helped each other out. It was a fun thing to be a part of, and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Denver Hands Vandals a Loss
Off the back of their victory over NAU, the Vandals hosted Denver but came up short as they defeated Idaho 175-125, moving the Vandals’ record to 3-2.
Denver was coming off a loss to Washington State and showed their resolve, dominating the Vandals in almost every event. However, Salvitti, Kiefer and Mason shined for the Vandals on a day when Denver controlled the meet.
Salvitti won both diving events, earning scores of 293.48 in the 3-meter and 288.15 in the 1-meter. Amelia Ward earned second in the 1-meter with a score of 275.93.
Mason was the star of the show again, taking the 1,000-yard freestyle for the second straight day with a time of 10:11.42. Sowa was impressed with Mason and her performance across the two meets.
“Marie Mason had a tremendous weekend. She’s a young sophomore. We always joke, you can’t coach experience, you just need to have experience,” Sowa said. “That’s why the sophomore year can be such a good thing, and we’re seeing that pay off with Marie.”
The sophomore year is a critical year for swimmers, and for the Vandals, it has paid off. Last year, Kiefer was the breakout star and she has had a great start to her junior year. She won the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 2:02.18.
“Ginger puts a lot of expectations on herself, and all we do is expect Ginger to be Ginger,” Sowa said. “What we found this weekend is she doesn’t have to carry the team. We have other people that can pick up the slack, and I think she needs to remember that and just be herself. When she does that, she’s going to have an even better junior year.”
The Vandals had a couple of other first-place finishers. Madelyn Butler earned the top time in the 50-yard freestyle, clocked at 23.48, and was followed by Isabella Borke at 23.62. Courtney Crawford finished second in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:20.67.
Looking Ahead
Sowa recapped the weekend and what he saw from his team over the two meets.
“We scheduled these back-to-back meets for a reason because early in the season, we want to challenge them with very good competition, but do it on back-to-back days, and that’s what we did,” Sowa said.
After the two intense battles, Sowa learned a lot about his team and is excited for their potential.
“These athletes are tremendous people. They’re a joy to work with. They love their sport. They love being a part of this team,” Sowa said. “They love being Vandals. It’s great to get wins. I love who they are, and I’m honored to be a part of that. We’ve got to learn from this and hopefully try to make adjustments against a very good Colorado State team.”
The Vandals will host the Colorado State Rams on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 11:30 a.m. at the UI Swim Center.
Jayden Barfuss can be reached at [email protected].