As more records fall, more buzz begins to grow among and around the SIU swimming and diving team.
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“We’re all feeling really excited,” junior Olivia Herron said.
According to head coach Geoff Hanson, the Salukis have already broken seven program records in dual meets alone this season. In a dual meet against the University of Illinois Chicago, the women’s team, headlined by Herron’s performance, broke four program records, including three by Herron in individual events.
It’s something that Hanson, who is in his sixth year as head coach, hasn’t seen while at SIU.
“(It’s) something I’ve not really seen in this program. We’ve set a lot of school records in the last five years, but not this many this early,” Hanson said.
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The success hasn’t ended in the lanes, either. The diving team has seen strong performances early in the year from sophomore Oliver Mebs and senior Lee Haywood, who both have earned NCAA Zone qualifying scores already this season in the three and one meter events, respectively.
Under the flags, 2024 Paris Olympian Celia Pulido has already swum an NCAA B-cut time in the 100 meter backstroke, and a newcomer on the men’s team has also done the same.
Willem Huggins, who earned Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week for his performance in a dual meet at UIC, swam an NCAA B-cut time in the 200 yard backstroke and also won the 100 yard backstroke.
Despite his success and role in helping SIU earn the joking nickname “Backstroke University,” Huggins isn’t letting himself get distracted from what’s ahead.
“I go day to day… work hard in the water, get out, recover and do it again. Obviously accomplishments will come with that, but right now, I’ve got to put that past me and then look ahead at the future so I can really compete better,” Huggins said.
Hanson and the rest of the coaching staff are happy with where the team is, especially considering the different levels of experience the men’s and women’s teams have. The men, who started a bit slow in the first couple dual meets, have rounded into form in the last few weeks.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys and on the men’s team and then a lot of experienced guys, and not a ton in between, so we’re trying to bring up the other guys and get them experience at the college level,” Hanson said. “We’re expecting good things from the men.”
The women’s team has been a different story; dominant since the season began.
“The women, they’ve been locked in since day one. They really feel good about where they are as a group,” Hanson said.
Herron, who was named MVC Women’s Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 6, says that the team is riding high going into SIU’s own invitational and beyond.
“The atmosphere, it’s like a buzz of excitement. Everyone’s looking forward to what the season can do,” Herron said.
SIU will host their A3 Performance Invitational on November 14-16 in the Shea Natatorium. As Hanson said, being “the only school in the Missouri Valley that has the ability to host an invitational like this at home,” and one where “our stands are filled with parents, friends and family” provides a huge opportunity for the Dawgs.
“We make it a very athlete-friendly meet. Out of prelims, all of our swimmers will get swims in finals. We do a lot of exhibition relays… it’s an opportunity to swim a lot,” Hanson said.
The Dawgs have come a long way since the beginning of the year, in terms of both performance and team camaraderie. According to Huggins, part of how the Salukis have been able to get to where they are is because of how they’ve “held each other accountable.”
“We call each other out, positive, negative. We make sure that we hold each other to what we need to be doing,” Huggins said. “I think that’s really important in a team atmosphere, just to make sure that we know we need to get better.”
“We’re in a good place. The team can see that, the coaches can see that,” Herron said.
The team is only set to get deeper, too. According to Hanson, there will be a few new faces set to join the team soon.
“We’ve got a couple mid-year additions that will come in in December and join us and help fill some holes,” Hanson said.
When looking up and down the roster, it certainly feels as though this is the most talented, top-to-bottom roster Hanson has had at SIU. Between conference champs, team record holders, and promising newcomers, there isn’t much the team is missing.
“We feel like we’ve got a really deep team, and a team that has fewer holes than we’ve had in my time here,” Hanson said. “This is our best team, I think, in the last five years.”
The team is highlighted by reigning conference champs and NCAA Finals qualifiers Pulido and Santiago, and supplemented by other longtime standout performers like Herron, Tomas Peciar, Donat Czurvarski and Bea Padron, who swam in the 2020 Olympics representing Costa Rica. Several other names, outside of Huggins, are making waves this year too.
Hanson specifically mentioned Ale Hoyos, a distance swimmer who is currently injured but expected to play a big role when healthy; freshman Elliott Dye; and Liseska Gallegos Gutierrez, a freshman backstroker who has been “second to Celia (Pulido) throughout the season,” which is a big accomplishment in itself.
Adding to her accomplishment, Gallegos was named MVC Women’s Freshman Swimmer of the Week on Nov. 6, making her the second Saluki freshman to earn a freshman of the week honor already this season.
Herron brought up Brooklyn Anderson and Madalyn Booker, both of whom have already had multiple podium finishes in individual events this season.Huggins mentioned sophomores AJ Terry and Benedek Andor.
“Those two, man, they are fast,” Huggins said. “I think they’re going to swim really well this year.”
Having so many athletes performing well early doesn’t concern Hanson, either. He knows that the team will continue its upward trajectory and be ready to peak in February and March.
“The men tend to peak more at the end of the season than in the middle of the season… we expect big drops from men at the end of the season,” Hanson said. “Our women have been super consistent with how their progression has been.”
Herron isn’t worried either.
“I just trust in the coaches and the training, and just keep doing what I’m doing. It seems to be working, and just continue pushing,” Herron said.
Peaking in the late winter would put the Salukis in position to win conference championships, something that hasn’t happened under Hanson’s tenure but has long been on their minds.
“Those are things we’ve talked about since our first week together… going back to last year, and before we broke for the summer, that somewhere that our returners had on their minds,” Hanson said.
Huggins knows that the team is intensely focused on the same goal.
“We are frozen rope. We are straight arrow on that,” Huggins said. “We have to believe that we’re going to win it, and we do.”
Sports reporter Ryan Grieser can be reached at [email protected]. To stay up to date on all your southern Illinois, be sure to follow The Daily Egyptian on Facebook and on X @dailyegyptian.
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