Highlanders Swim Kicks-off Long Course Season

Last weekend, our Highlanders travelled to Dalhousie University to begin the long course season in style, earning numerous personal bests and multiple medals. For those unfamiliar with competitive swimming, the year is typically split between short course (25-metre pools), like our own Spafford pool, and long course (50-metre pools) meets, and we are currently in the transition phase from short course to long course. The key difference is that a longer pool means fewer walls for turns, making long course racing more challenging overall.

Emery Endres '28 swam several events for the first time, including the 200m breaststroke and her inaugural long course 800m freestyle, where she finished 10th. She also placed 11th in her debut long course 200m butterfly – an event many consider the toughest in the sport. Meanwhile, Lillian Blois '27 achieved a personal best in the 50m backstroke, improving her overall standing by four places.

Michael Denysenko '25 recorded multiple personal bests, dropping nearly a second from his previous 50m butterfly mark and improving on both his 100m freestyle and favorite event, the 50m freestyle. Harvey Hadley '27 took a remarkable 11 seconds off his 200m individual medley to claim a silver medal, placed fourth in the 400m individual medley, and then powered home in both the 100m butterfly and 100m breaststroke to capture two more silver medals.

Closing out the meet, our four Highlanders united in the mixed 400m freestyle relay, where they broke the club record – set less than a year ago by more than 11 seconds!