Men finish in third while women come in fourth

The Pomona-Pitzer swim and dive teams took to the pool with furious, fervent ferocity last week’s Sunday through Tuesday at the SCIAC conference championships in Long Beach. With the swiftness of someone being chased by both a Hungarian Horntail and a pack of soul-sucking dementors matched with the speed of an unjinxed Firebolt, the Sagehens took down records, assaulted the podium, and cheered teammates to resounding victories. Sheer perseverance and excellence marinated in the pool as the best looking team in SCIAC (if not the nation) showed no mercy.

Some of the many highlights included Pomona Freshman Alex “not Abe” Lincoln finishing fifth in the 50 and 100 freestyle races and pumping up the team with a commanding third place in the 200-yard freestyle. JP Cummings PO ‘13 battled for third place in both the 500-yard freestyle and the mile. Max “Muffin” Scholten PO ’12 towered over the other competitors on the podium for each of his individual events, taking first place in both the 100- and 200-yard backstroke and second in the 50-yard freestyle. Tyler Oe PO ‘14 also did an outstanding job, competing in both the three- and one-meter diving events, and taking second and sixth respectively.

Along with these remarkable individual performances, three relay teams broke school records at the meet. The first night of finals, the women started off the meet strong, breaking the 200-yard freestyle relay record. Cheered on by teammates behind the blocks, Alex Lincoln, Morgan Ingemanson PO ’13, Charlotte Dohrn PO ’13 and Kristin Lindbergh PO ’12 swam their way into the record books twice during SCIACs. The team had a dry spell when it came to records for nearly the rest of the meet until the final two relays on the last day of the finals. By the time the 400 freestyle relays reached the blocks, the tension was palpable. The women’s team again stepped up to the challenge with the 400 free relay, breaking their second record of the meet. Following that performance, the men’s 400-yard relay team, comprised of Joe ‘The Jester’ LaBriola PO ’12, Andrew ‘Mandrew’ Kinimaka PO ’11, Chris ‘Cookie’ Wright PO ’12 and Max ‘Muffin’ Scholten also broke the school’s record.

Unfortunately, due to their recent crusade against Speedo-clad culprits, the Sagehens require rest. And after three days of athletic feats, one solid showing at table manners (“No Manners, Only Tables”) and SCIAC Party, sleep is a must. Next week’s issue will include in-depth interviews with athletes and the one and only Coach Iron Fist.