GRINNELL, Iowa — The Carleton College women's swimming & diving team wrapped up competition at the Pioneer Classic in third place out of nine teams. The Knights totaled 11 top-5 results on Saturday, including Elizabeth Chatard's (Fy./San Anselmo, Calif./Archie Williams) victory in the 200-yard breaststroke.

"A primary goal for the teams this week, both in the pool and on the boards, was to push and challenge them with focused and heavy training prior to heading into meets where they would have strong competition and the fullest competitive event schedules they have experienced since fall of 2019," said Carleton head coach Andy Clark. "We are at the halfway point in our season, and the competition that both the swimmers and divers had was an ideal check point for them to see where they are in terms of their skill, fitness, diving and racing abilities, and mentality to be consistent in their approach and execution. Overall, the teams did extremely well and while there were some challenging moments, I think the efforts and results we saw were a good indication of the potential that both squads have for stronger performances when we head into the championship season."
 
Day 2 of the meet began with a third-place result for Carleton's top entry in the 200-yard medley relay. Lydia Boyum (Sr./Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson), Chatard, Natalie Lafferty (Sr./Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley), and Claire Neid (Sr./Denver, Colo./George Washington) combined on a time of 1:54.84.
 
The 400-yard IM saw both Alison Cameron (Sr./Reno, Nev./Reno) and Boyum break into the top-5. Cameron reached the wall at 4:57.32 to take third place, while Boyum's time of 5:02.23 was good for fifth place.
 
Chatard clocked a time of 1:11.60 to third place out of 39 racers in the 100-yard breaststroke.
 
The 800-yard freestyle relay saw Cameron, Victoria Bradjan (Fy./Gilbert, Ariz/Gilbert), Serena Lee (Sr./Muscat, Oman/The American International School of Muscat), and Boyum collaborate on a time of 8:29.70, which was good for fourth place.
 
Madi Smith (Sr./Denver, Colo./Denver School of Science and Technology-Stapleton) and Bradjan took silver and bronze in the 1650-yard freestyle, recording times of 19:17.00 and 19:28.87.
 
Maddie Damberg-Ott (Jr./London, Great Britain/Channing School) touched the wall at 2:15.69 as she turned in a third-place performance in the 200-yard backstroke.
 
Chatard prevailed in the 200-yard breaststroke with a time of 2:33.87.
 
Cameron added a runner-up result in the 200-yard butterfly, eclipsing her seed time by more than three seconds and touching the wall at 2:17.83.
 
The meet wrapped up with a fifth-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Lee, Cameron, Raine Bernhard (Jr./Champaign, Ill./University High School), and Boyum notched a time of 3:50.62.

This weekend, the divers on the team took part in the Rochester Invite hosted by St. Cloud State. On Friday evening, Brenna Russell scored 359.75 points to finish second among D-III competitors and seventh overall out of 26 individuals on the 1-meter board. Kapani Kirkland took 12th place at 327.65 points. Saturday saw Kirkland qualify for the finals of the 3-meter competition where she finished fifth with 375.45 points, while Russell narrowly missed the finals by 1.5 points and was ninth with a score of 320.45.
 
Up Next for the Knights
Carleton prepares for its regular Winter Break Training Trip. This year the Knights will be in the Florida Keys from December 7-15.


Friday's Recap