Marlins swimmers shatter records in recent meet.
McKenna Howenstine|Marlin Chronicle
Virginia Wesleyan’s swim teams have started this season with a splash. Through the first four meets of the season, a combined five records have been broken for both the mens and womens teams. Freshmen Tommy Saeger and Emery Garza both broke records, as did sophomore Lora Young and junior Cael Long. Saeger and Long broke the men’s record for the 400 individual medley (IM) and the 200 backstroke respectively. Young took home both the women’s 400 individual medley and the 1000 freestyle records, while Garza beat the 100 backstroke record.
Long discussed his strategies for success. “Before any race, I like to generally focus on what’s in front of me. What am I doing? How am I going to do it?” Long said. “I’ve swam my entire life, so there’s no nerves.” The previous record was set by Tyler Strong in 2021 at the ODAC Championships with a time of 2:07.25. Long beat the record by touching the wall at 2:04.66. His current focus is improving in his main events, as he specializes in the 100 butterfly and 200 IM, with the 200 backstroke being his third event.
In just two meets, freshmen Saeger and Garza have managed to break a record. Saeger broke the 400 IM record by almost 10 seconds, cutting the record from 4:51.78 to 4:42.48. Garza narrowly broke the 100 backstroke record with a time of 1:01.94, eight hundredths of a second faster than the record, 1:02.02.
For Garza, breaking the record was an unexpected but welcome surprise. “Prior to me breaking the record, the fastest I’d ever swam 100 back was about a 1:03, 1:04 so going from that to a 1:01 was not what I was expecting,” Garza said. “I was really nervous because I didn’t think I could do it, but everybody around me was like, no, like, you can do this.”
Head coach Cassondre Wilburn is loving the teamwork between the freshmen and the upperclassmen. “The upperclassmen are really playing them in the right direction,” she said. “I did notice when it comes to the freshmen we have, a lot of them seem like they have some pretty good potential,” Long said.
“That’s the main reason I came here, because the team is so close knit, and we really push each other to do our best,” Garza said.
Despite being founded only seven years ago, “The team’s getting faster,” Wilburn said. “I think the news is getting out there that we are competitive.”
Establishing a competitive program is difficult, but having a new class that is already breaking records at the season’s start means the Marlins are moving forward.
For the Marlins, a new season is bound to bring changes. Practices have changed. Last year the focus for the team was sprint oriented. This season it’s different. “This year, we set the goal that we put in a little more yardage,” Wilburn said. Out of the records that were broken, the lone yardage race was the 1000 freestyle. Young previously held the record with a time of 12:09.68 and set the new record at 12:08.58.
The team goal for this season is to make NCAA cuts, especially for the freshman. “Wesleyan has never had a swimmer that makes NCAA cuts,” Wilburn said.
Currently, Garza is the closest Marlin swimmer to making the NCAA B cut in the 50 freestyle. Garza’s time at the Emory & Henry dual meet of 25.04 sits just 1.47 seconds away from the B cut time of 23.57. “I’m pretty much on track, my 50 could get a little faster, but we’ll see how the season ends out,” Garza said. “I’m excited to see how it will play out.”
In the Marlins’ recent dual meet against Gallaudet University and Chowan University, two more school records were broken. Long finished in second place in the 100 IM, breaking his own record with a time of 55.02. Garza also broke the record she held previously, finishing with a time of 1:01.84 in the 100 backstroke.
Both teams will be competing in the Yellow Jacket Invitational, hosted by Randolph-Macon University on Nov. 22 through Nov. 24.
By: Eli Casey
emcasey@vwu.edu
