Despite losing his goggles earlier in the morning preliminaries, and seeding 6th, Mering was in a good place come the finals. “I was feeling pretty relaxed and confident. I knew that I had a good race in me. I didn’t know if I was going to execute perfectly, but I felt like I had it,†said Mering. Although the race wasn’t over until Mering touched the wall at 47.91 seconds, Collins, watching impatiently, was confident that her teammates would take home the title after just a few strokes.
Junior Karl Mering started Nationals without his goggles and ended as a national champion. Despite an early mishap, Mering had a very successful stint at D-III Nationals in Indianapolis, highlighted by a victory in the 100-yard butterfly, making him the first national champion swimmer in Whitman.’s history.
Whitman’s All-American Honorable Mention swimmer Claire Collins has every right to brag about her record breaking accolades, but when it comes to her success, Collins offers nothing but modesty. Collins, who took first place in the 200 breaststroke in the NWC Championship last week, is currently waiting to hear if she will have another chance to compete at Nationals for the second year in a row.
Whitman's varsity sports program provides a clash of ideals for LGBTQ athletes who choose to play for the Missionaries. While the college prides itself on being progressive and inclusive, the sports world can often be rigid and conservative. When these perceived opposites meet, which wins out?
For the first eighteen years of his life, wrestler Hudson Taylor didn’t think he knew anybody who was gay. But since graduating from the University of Maryland in 2010, he has spent much of his time standing in front of college athletes around the country discussing the importance of recognizing and supporting their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender peers.
Whitman’s men’s and women’s swimming teams finished second and third, respectively, to wrap up their season this weekend at the conference championships. Although the men and women finished in the same places as last year, the attitude leaving the meet was very different
