On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Lawrence Vikings made a substantial impact at the Wisconsin Private College Championships for swimming. The men’s team came out of the competition with 126 points, only behind Carthage College, who scored 242. As for the women’s team, they came in third with 86 points.
However, the Vikings’ most impressive feat was their numerous first place standings at the Koenitzer Aquatic Center, especially behind junior swimmer Anton Hutchinson’s achievements. He succeeded in taking three titles home, earning first place in three freestyle relays. He won the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:46, the 500-yard freestyle in 4:54 (a victory in which the runner-up was more than 12 seconds behind) and the 1,650-yard freestyle in 17:37. His freestyle hat-trick won him the Midwest Conference Swimmer of the Week Award for the second time in his career.
Hutchinson was not the only champion, however, as first-year Viking A.J. Ulwelling placed first in the male 3-meter dive with a score of 257.10. In addition, sophomore Maddy Smith took first in the female 3-meter dive, with 446.70. The Vikings made their presence known across the board as well; junior Charlie Phillips placed second in the 1,650-yard relay with 18:18 and second in the 200-yard butterfly with 2:07.39. The women’s 1,650 points had Vikings holding on to top spots as well, with sophomore Mae Grahs taking second place (19:52.68) and teammate senior Elise Riggle finishing close behind in third (19:53.72). Also, Lawrence’s men’s team was able to take second place in the 200 medley behind a team of Hutchinson, senior Tom Goldberg, senior Liam Wulfman and first-year Davis Wukovits with a time of 1:40.34. Wukovits would fit himself into another second place title in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:25.88. The Midwest Conference Championships for swimming are Feb.14-16, where the team will travel to Grinnell, Iowa.