It’s still early in the season, but it was a big meet for Hamline swimming and diving to gauge where they stack up. The Pipers were led by sophomore Hodd Gorman and first-year Taylor Martinek, on the way to a second place finish for men and fourth for women. Gorman won the 500 Free in 4:54.02. He also took second in the 1000 Free in 10:17.07. Martinek won both the 500 Free in 25.62 and 100 Free in 1:04.19.

The teams have been pleasantly surprised with how they’re doing so far this year.

“The season is going better than expected. Some teammates already beat their lifetime marks,” senior Victor Lara said.

Senior captain Connor Benson agrees.

“[The] season has gone really well so far. Practices are much harder, especially doing two-a-days, everyday; but people are still dropping time and going faster,” Benson said.

Others echo his opinion on the practices.

“We have morning (double) practices four times a week with lifting and swimming. We only had them twice a week last year,” sophomore Elizabeth Gregorio said.

The difficulty of practice isn’t the only thing that has changed.

“The team has grown a lot the last two years. We’ve had a couple really big first-year classes,” Gregorio said

The bigger teams have helped add depth, which is a welcome addition.

“The first years added a great value to the team,” Lara said.

This has helped make the whole team better.

“Everyone is stepping up when it comes to relays. In some cases we have seven or eight guys battling for four relay spots and that motivates everyone to swim faster and stay competitive,” Lara said.

Sophomore Todd Croaston, who took third in the 1-meter dive, thinks so too.

“I would agree and say relays as well. When we pull together our strongest performers, there’s more support from the team and we perform better. So I’d say our team chemistry is one of our strengths,” Croaston said.

He’s not the only one that thinks there’s more behind the relays.

“Our combined work ethic, and mid distance events [are big strengths]. Our 800 free relay is competitive with anyone in the MIAC. That being said, we are becoming more competitive in all other events as well,” Benson said.

This has benefited the women too.

“Our first-year class has a lot of sprinters, so we’re covered on sprinting events,” Gregorio said.

The strong teams are more than just a product of more people, however.

“Everybody’s really committed to the team. It’s rare to have such a big team that everyone really cares,” Gregorio said.

It all comes back to practice.

“There’s a lot more focus instead of messing around at practice. We’re taking it a lot more serious this season,” Croaston said.

Even with the great start to the season, the goals haven’t changed much for either team.

“Our goals are still the same, to move up in the MIAC,” Benson said.

Others take it a step further.

“There’s a lot of season left. This year some guys have been talking about taking third or fourth at MIAC,” Croaston said.

The teams will be able to further see where they are at the meets later in the season.

“The Jean Freeman Invite in December and MIAC Conference meet will be the key ones for the team to reach their goals,” Lara said.

Don’t count out fun yet, though.

“I mean we still have fun at practice. We still have our shenanigans,” Croaston said.