Sophomore swimmer Aaron Williams steps to the block at the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championship for the final heat in the 100-meter butterfly race.
He straps on his goggles, hypes himself up with positive affirmations, gets into a low position — and then:
Nothing.
He shuts his brain off, unconscious to his surrounding environment and lets pure instinct take over as he plunges into the water as the buzzer sounds.
His muscle memory takes over each butterfly stroke as he propels himself above the water and through both ends of the Lejeune Hall pool, home of Navy swim and dive.
When Williams returns to the block, he regains his sense of reality. He doesn’t even remember his race and finally peers at the clock. 48.25 seconds — a school record — one of the many set by the Mountain Hawks at a successful Patriot League Championship performance from both the men’s and women’s swim teams.
The postseason proved to be a high point for both programs. The men’s team broke five records and the women’s added two more in addition to capturing multiple medals.
Williams was responsible for two of those new records.
“All of us have been working towards this all season, pushing each other in practice and giving each other pointers on how to get faster,” Williams said. “Just being able to see that work pay off has been such an incredible feeling.”
This team dynamic was evident on the first day of competition when Williams and junior swimmer Elvin Lee had a friendly back-and-forth competition that pushed both teammates to break the 100-meter butterfly record.
Lee and Williams posted consecutive record-breaking times in the preliminary rounds and finals before Williams got the last breakthrough.
“We’re teammates and friends, so there was definitely a lot of banter between (Lee and I),” Williams said. “I can confidently say without him pushing me or giving me tips, neither of us would have been close to that record without each other.”
On the second and third days of the competition, the men broke other records in the 200-yard medley relay, 800-yard freestyle relay and 100-yard breaststroke behind a strong performance from junior Jack DeVilbiss.
During the final day of competition, sophomore Ben Kisker shattered the 200-yard backstroke record — a record he set at last year’s Patriot League Championships.
Kisker’s time of 1:46.95 earned him 17 points in the event and contributed to his team-leading 34 points.
“It shows how all the hard work from this season just paid off,” Kisker said. “Having your team behind you, seeing all of them cheer and get excited makes it even more special.”
With the five broken records and strong performances overall from the roster, the men’s team earned sixth place in the competition, the same rank as the previous year.
While the postseason signals the end of the swim season, this year’s competition held an even deeper meaning for graduate student swimmer Sarah Hardy.
Hardy, the longest-tenured swimmer on the roster, turned in one of her best performances in her career. The graduate student’s performance included two gold medals in the 400-yard individual medley and the 200-yard butterfly and a new school record in the latter.
In her last ever meet for Lehigh, Hardy described the circumstances surrounding her performance as a “perfect ending” and applauded her teammates for pushing her to achieve her highest potential at every race.
“I loved the support my team gave me behind the blocks, on the sidelines and in the stands,” Hardy said. “Their energy — I could feel in the pool like they were swimming the race with me.”
Alongside Hardy, the women’s 800-yard freestyle relay team earned hardware on the first day of competition and followed that performance up with medals won by junior Willa Werwaiss and senior Julia Stevens.
Behind multiple dominant performances, the women’s team finished fifth place, also the same result as the previous year.
“We always do so well at (Patriot League Championships) that naturally, it will build a lot of momentum for people,” Hardy said.
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