March 26, 2008

Fairfield, CT - The Sacred Heart swimming and diving team recently completed a season that saw several momentous occasions in the program's history. The Pioneers set 22 new school records, shattering times that had stood for several years. For the first time ever, SHU swimmers qualified for the ECAC Championships in both individual and team relay events.

Leading the charge for the Pioneers this year were two top newcomers in sophomore Johannah Kos (Feeding Hills, MA) and freshman Katie Marshall (Cumberland, RI). Kos set a total of 11 individual records on her own. She set times in the 200 and 400 yard Individual Medleys and the 100 and 200 yard backstrokes. Meanwhile, Marshall set six new school records, topping her own times in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly events. Both Kos and Marshall qualified for the ECAC Championships and posted Top 10 finishes in their events.

Everyone on our team had a great season but Katie and Johannah led the parade," head coach Richard "Doc" Ludeman said. They turned in record setting times nearly every week and got better every time they were in the pool." Their performances at the ECAC's, finishing in the Top 10 was just fantastic.

In addition to their new swimmers, the Pioneers turned to some old faces for big performances as well. Senior Laura Johnson (Red Hook, NY) was the anchor of the breaststroke, setting school records in the 100 yard and 200 yard breaststroke events.

"Without Laura and our other senior leadership we wouldn't have been able to reach the levels we did," Ludeman said.

The relay events were just as strong as the individual ones for the Pioneers, as the 400 yard medley relay squad of Kos, Marshall, Johnson and Molly McDonald (Sag Harbor, NY) qualified for finals at the ECAC Championships, setting a new school record in the process. Kos, Marshall, Johnson and Jennifer Crowley (Newington, CT) also teamed up to set a new mark in the 200 yard medley relay. Another school record went down in the 800 yard freestyle relay when Marshall, McDonald, Jackie Balder (Levittown, NY) and Adriana Morgan (Poughkeepsie, NY) shattered the old mark by more than eight seconds.

"We have a nice base heading into the offseason and preparations for next year, Ludeman said. Our distance swimmers are solid and we have some good g-to utility swimmers, like Taylor Sullivan (Stoughton, MA) who is one of the most versatile swimmers on the team."

"In the short two years I have been the coach here, we have taken incredible steps as a team. Most programs take much longer to accomplish what we have in such a short time."

For a complete list of Sacred Heart swimming records click the link below.

Sacred Heart Swimming Records