Swimming teams compete well at Morningside
SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Simpson women's swimming team swam to a third-place finish of five teams and the men's team took third of three at the 2009 Morningside Invitational on Saturday.
Women
The women's team took third of five teams, behind winner Nebraska-Kearney (367) and second place Morningside (353). Simpson (249) finished ahead of St. Mary's (185) and Iowa Central (72).
"We showed great improvement from our first meet on Halloween," Simpson head coach Aaron Strain said. "All the girls really did well. It was truly a balanced effort."
Keely Goshia highlighted the meet for the Storm, shattering the record in the 200-yard butterfly for the women's team while taking first in the event (2:30.07). The freshman from Colorado also took third in the 200-yard IM and fifth in the 100-yard backstroke.
"Keely crushed the school record in the 200-yard, butterfly, shaving nearly 13 seconds off it," Strain said. "She's doing a fantastic job in her first season of collegiate competition."
Bobbie Pearson also had a quality showing for the Storm. Also a freshman, Pearson placed third in the 50, 100 and 500-yard freestyle events. She also anchored Simpson's third-place finishes in both the 4x50-yard medley and the 4x50-yard freestyle relay.
Competing despite a shoulder injury suffered earlier in the week, Strain was impressed with the resiliency showed by Anna Aldridge.
"Anna is one of the toughest athletes I've been around," Strain said. "She dislocated her shoulder in practice on Wednesday, but she still managed to take fifth in the 50-yard freestyle (28.82) and did well in 100-yard freestyle as well."
Aldridge finished the 100-yard freestyle just over a second behind her teammate Pearson, taking fourth place (1:02.35).
Men
In only their second meet as a program, Strain saw signs of progress from the men's team. Iowa Central won the men's competition with 414 points, followed by Morningside with 387 and Simpson with 135.
"The men's team did a great job today has a lot to be proud of," Strain said. "I saw a lot of improvement from our first meet, which is a good sign we are growing as a team."
A freshman from France, Sylvain Joyeux turned in a strong performance in the 50-yard freestyle, placing second (23.63). He also placed fourth in both the 100 (53:08) and 200-yard freestyle (2:01.09).
"Sylvain turned a great effort today," Strain said. "He's only been swimming competitively for about six weeks, but he is making great strides each time he gets into the pool."
Terry Hodge swam well in the breaststroke events, taking second in the 100 (1:09.11) and third in the 200 (2:39.97). Freshman Conor Fair, not usually a breaststroker, also turned in a solid performance in the 100, taking seventh (1:29.26).
"Conor is not a breaststroker, but do to an injured shoulder we put him in the breaststroke instead of his usual freestyle events," Strain said. "He stepped up and showed a lot of toughness and competed strongly in an unfamiliar event."
The swimming teams will host a pair of events next weekend, hosing St. Mary's and Coe Friday, Nov. 20 at 5 p.m., followed by a dual against Loras Nov. 21 at 1 p.m.
