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By Paige Walter, WalterP1@Findlay.edu
University of Findlay Swim team traveled to G–MAC with a solid team and winning in their eyes.
UF’s swim team competed in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, dominating the competition. The women’s team won with 1,966 points, and the men’s team scored 1,791 points.
The team traveled to Michigan on Feb. 11 and returned Feb. 16 with 36 women athletes for championship wins in multiple events and 21 male athletes for a win of 550 points.
Leland Woeste on the UF men’s team won the award for freshman of the meet.
“Showing up to practice and having someone push me to be better is always a big thing,” Woeste said. “I came in second place in 400 IM (individual medley), first in the 800-freestyle relay; we were relay champions.”
Woeste says the team practices every week starting on the first Friday of the school year to prepare for the G-MAC tournament. The team practices each week with three weightlifting sessions, six swim practices, plus a few extra practices here and there.
Junior Faith Marsicek from the women’s team has experienced the G–MAC three times and loves the excitement it brings.
“I think what separated this year from others is our women’s team had a lot more depth,” Marsicek said. “There were multiple times this year where in a heat of eight, Findlay had six girls in the pool, we have gained depth of really fast swimmers this year.”
Coach Diego Santos is proud of his team. He reminds the team not to take the days for granted, have fun, and to appreciate the people before.
“I try to make an emphasis that what is happening right now, it started with the people that were on the team four to 10 years ago,” Santos said. “Four to 10 years ago we weren’t even close to as good as we are now. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for all the steps and breaks that all the past generations put in to build who we are now.”
Santos, a UF alumni and former UF swimmer, ensures the team is ready for the next challenge. He and his teammates look to the future, remember past efforts, and strive for glory.
“When you get good you gain targets on us. When we travel, the other teams all know who is going to win and they want to change that,” Santos said. “The competition will do everything they can to change that, so we as a team must make sure that we don’t sleep on what we’ve done before. We’ve got to maintain that fire and hunger to keep going forward.”
