MOSCOW, Idaho – Ella Haskins and
Ginger Kiefer combined to break three school records, while Idaho swim and dive (5-5) fell in their regular season finale to Washington State, 173-115 on Saturday at the UI Swim Center.
"Breaking records is fun and doing it at a dual meet at our pool is something we don't do very often," Head Coach Mark Sowa expressed. "I think the last time that happened was my first year here and those records were not nearly as fast as the records that are up here now. That was a blast. With Ella (Haskins), we knew those swims were there and it's fun watching her put that together. In October, Ginger's 1000 (freestyle) looked pretty promising so that was a heck of a swim right there. She had two very tired swims after that - not sure if she realized how hard that was. Those names on those boards are great Vandals and now we get to put some new great Vandals back up on that board."
The meet didn't offer the final score that the Vandals had hoped for but Idaho was able to post five first-place performances and six runner-up finishes against a Pac-12 opponent.
Idaho took advantage in the freestyle events specifically, as Haskins posted two wins in the 50 and 100 free while Kiefer took home the top spot in the 1000 free.
Kiefer was first to etch her name in the Idaho record book, posting a time of 10:09.17 to pass former Vandal alum Christine Rnezini by more than six seconds (10:15.57) for first all-time.
Haskins swam her way to a time of 22.94 in the 50 free to break the previously 10-year-old record held by Erica Anderson (23.08). She followed that up with another record-breaking performance in the 100 free, racing to a top spot in 49.90.
The historic performance by Haskins was especially impressive as the former WAC Swimmer of the Year, Rachel (Millet) Sewell, who previously held the top mark was in attendance.
Lauren Wierschke took first in both diving events for Idaho. She posted a score of 259.95 in the 3-meter and 259.15 in the 1-meter.
Zoe Froh,
Grace Ruble and Idaho's 400 free relay team all took home second-place finishes in their respective events. Froh finished in 5:06.31 in the 500 free. Ruble took the second spot in both the 100 (56.17) and 200 (2:04.70) fly, while the 400 free relay team put down a time of 3:25.62.
At the conclusion of the home meet, head Coach Mark Sowa and his staff honored nine seniors who spent their last four seasons donning the Silver and Gold -
Jennifer Conger,
Zoe Froh,
Emily Mack, Bella Maclean-Cariello,
Jamie Morgan,
Haily Oldham,
Sarah Shaffer,
Emma Stahl, and
Maddie Timm.
"This group came in the fall of 2020, where we weren't sure what athletics was even going to look like," Sowa said. "They really got us out of a pretty dark place and they brought a ton of youthful energy. They found a way to make it normal and I will always be grateful for this group. They led to a lot of healing which is awesome and they have changed this program for the better."
The Idaho divers travel to Flagstaff, AZ next weekend for the three-day (Feb. 8-10) annual Lumberjack Diving Invitational, Feb. 8-10, while the swimmers prepare for the WAC Championships (Feb. 28-Mar. 2).
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