For the second-straight season, the Hillsdale College women's swimming and diving team finished the year in impressive fashion by adding another All-American honor to the program's growing list at the NCAA DII Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio in mid-March.
Junior Megan Clifford capped the season with repeat All-American honors in the 200 yd butterfly for the Chargers, placing 13th in the nation with a time of 2:02.27 in the finals. In accomplishing the feat, Clifford joined 2015 Hillsdale graduate Rachael Kurtz as the only Hillsdale College women's swimmer to earn All-American honors in consecutive seasons, as Kurtz did in the 50 freestyle in 2014 and 2015. Overall, Clifford is one of just six Hillsdale College women's swimmers to earn NCAA DII All-American honors in the program's history.
Clifford was nearly joined as a repeat All-American by junior Elise Mason, who placed 17th, one spot off of All-American honors, in an incredibly fast and competitive 1,650 freestyle field at the same meet. Mason also had career high finishes in both the 500 freestyle and 1,000 freestyle, setting new program records in both events with a 5:00.78 in the 500 and a 10:13.35 in the 1,000. That capped another impressive season for the distance freestyle swimmer from Zeeland, Michigan, who won titles in the 500, 1,000 and 1,650 freestyle for the third consecutive time at the 2024 G-MAC/MEC Championships in February and was named co-swimmer of the meet.
2024 also offered a chance for a well-deserved send-off of Hillsdale's three swimmer senior class, led by Caroline Holmes, a versatile and talented swimmer who earned three first-team All-G-MAC honors and graduates with the second-best time in program history in both the 100 and 200 backstroke. The Chargers also bid farewell to Sarah Pataniczek and Phoebe Johnston, who competed in a variety of events for Hillsdale over the course of their four year careers as Chargers, and who contributed valuable points to Hillsdale G-MAC/MEC meet squads in every season they were a part of the team.
While the Chargers will miss their three graduating seniors, the 2023-24 season also marked the emergence of a talented freshman class who should play a major role in Hillsdale's success for many seasons to come, headline by distance freestyle swimmer Isabel Ondracek. Ondracek, a Minnesota native, became the fifth Charger in seven seasons to earn G-MAC/MEC Freshman of the Meet honors thanks to a strong performance behind Mason in the distance events, taking runner-up behind Mason in the 500 freestyle while also placing in the top four in both the 1,650 freestyle and the 1,000 freestyle. Along with her young classmates, Ondracek should help keep the Chargers competitive for years to come as Hillsdale looks to bring in another decorated recruiting class this coming fall.
The immediate future for the Chargers looks bright as well, as Hillsdale returns both Clifford and Mason as well as decorated breaststroker Joanna Burnham and that solid freshman class in 2024-25 to take another shot at recapturing the G-MAC/MEC crown after a runner-up finish this year, and to achieve more success at the national level. In all, 15 swimmers are on track to return to what should be a deep and talented squad.
Photo by Meredith Wipper