The Keene State women’s swim team took home the Little East Conference (LEC) championship this past weekend in Wellesley, Mass., marking the program’s 16th consecutive LEC title and 19th overall.
The conference victory was the culmination of five months of hard work for the team, according to head coach Christopher Woolridge. “Our season runs from September through February and to have a group of people stay focused throughout that time is something they should all be proud of,” said Woolridge.
The team’s dominant run isn’t something that comes overnight. Woolridge credits the upper-level students with creating a winning environment and expectations.
“They set the tone for our work ethic and the focus on our end-of-season performance and work to get all of our new team members excited and bought into the pursuit of a LEC Championship,” Woolridge said. One of those upper-level students responsible for creating this winning environment is junior Kiley Young. Young also felt proud of her team for staying focused during the grind of the season.
“Due to the fact that it is such a long season, it can be hard to keep that intensity going. Especially when we reach the end of the first semester and finals are approaching. But… when you see your teammates training hard and going after their goals, it’s hard not to want to do the same,” said Young.
A highlight of the season for Young was their team trip to Florida during winter break, she said. After not being able to make the trip the past few seasons due to COVID restrictions, the whole team was excited for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “It is also just such an amazing bonding experience, making it through the double practices every day together,” said Young.
This team was resilient all year in overcoming adversity in dealing with injuries. Senior captain Jaelin Jang credits the athletic support services with helping them stay strong. “We have a great athletic training department that helped us do what we needed to do to get back in the pool,” said Jang.
Coach Woolridge had high praise for his team in dealing with those setbacks. “Our ladies really had to step up and do their best to fill that void while staying positive about the outcome of the meet. It’s not an easy thing to do, and they met that challenge head-on,” said Woolridge. Expectations are high for the Owls next season as they look to make it seventeen LEC championships in a row. “We had a young team this year and I am looking forward to seeing how each athlete can develop and become better over the next season,” said Woolridge.
With the loss of three seniors next year, the Owls will look different in the pool, but Young is welcoming a new challenge with a new class of first-year students.
“It’s hard losing your seniors because you are losing a part of your team, but at the same time, you are gaining a whole new group of freshmen. The team dynamic changes every year, but it is exciting to build a new one,” Young said. Keene State swimming and diving will return to the pool next September.
Cal Thompson can be contacted at
cthompson@kscequinox.com
