Spotlight: Hayley Levin ’16 Hayley Levin ’16 was recently named Grinnell College Athlete of the Week, as well as the Midwest Conference Women’s Swimming and Diving Performer of the Week. She holds the fastest time in the Midwest Conference this season for the 100 fly and 200 IM, is ranked second in the 400 IM, 100 breast and 200 breast and has the third-fastest time in the 200 free and 200 fly. She also swims on several highly ranked relays. Photo by Saw Min Maw Why did you choose Grinnell College? I chose Grinnell because I got recruited for swimming, which was the first eye-opener I had to Grinnell. Also, the academics are amazing and I believe a liberal arts education is important to have. Another really cool thing that drew me to Grinnell was that I could create my own schedule and I wasn’t limited to certain topics. When did you begin swimming? I started swimming when I was nine through summer league. I actually did a bunch of other sports like ice-skating, gymnastics, softball and soccer. Eventually my mom said I needed to pick one and I just really loved being in the water. I just felt really good when I was in the water, so I stayed. What was a highlight of the team training trip to Florida this year? The Connecticut College meet, which was outside and we were able to race fast people. On a non-swimming note, we had a beach day, which was a day off. We got to hang out with the entire team the whole day and bury ourselves in sand and play elbow tag in the ocean. What do you hope to accomplish this season? I would really love to make nationals in the 400 IM. What about between now and graduation? I would love to get a school record in the 400 IM. I think I’m close in the 200 IM right now actually, so I’d like to get that as well. It would be really nice to have my name up on the board. When’s your next meet? Our next meet is this weekend against Macalester away. We have a home meet the weekend after that [February 1 and 2]. Please come and watch! It makes everyone so excited and I swim so much faster when my friends are there to cheer me on. We could always use timers to work at the meet too. What are you most looking forward to this spring? I’m really excited about Conference. Everyone’s going to go fast and it’s going to be a great time for team bonding. We will be happy and energetic because we’re not tired anymore [because of tapering]. We are hosting Conference so people should come [Conference is February 15-17.] Describe your ideal sandwich. Toasted, so the Nutella I would put on it would melt. It would have a little bit of strawberries on it; that would be good. The bread would be multi-grain. -compiled by Jacqui Vautin Men’s and women’s track and field prepare for indoor, outdoor seasons By Brendan Ramirez [email protected] Second semester has just begun here at Grinnell College and with it comes the start of a new track and field season. Both the men and women’s teams had successful seasons last year and placed fifth at the Midwest Conference Championships. This year looks to be another promising one. The teams did well last year in competition and the athletes had a strong team bond. This is a trend that many hope will continue. “The team did a wonderful job supporting one another and everyone put in great efforts,” said thrower Kevin Pflaum ’13. “I think we’re becoming a more athletic program, while remaining inclusive and accepting of a wide range of talent,” said distance runner and S&B Sports Editor Jacqui Vautin ’13. Diana Seer ’15 has made the continuation of these strong bonds between teammates a goal for this season. “A team goal that I hope to achieve this year is having a positive, tightly knit team that supports one another across events,” Seer said. Pflaum has also made being a good teammate a goal of his for this year. “My biggest goal is just to have fun and try and be a good teammate,” Pflaum said. “I want to do my part and make sure I can support everyone the best I can!” With so much enthusiasm about camaraderie, the team will certainly be successful. There will be some challenges for the Pioneers to face this year. The women’s team in particular lost many athletes from last year. “Our junior class is a very large and talented class and most of them are abroad this semester, so that’s going to limit some of what we could do,” said Coach Evelyn Freeman. However, there is still plenty of hope for the women’s team to have a productive season. “[Losing the juniors] is going to hurt us a little bit, however we have a really good and large freshman class this year. And so we’re pretty excited,” Freeman said. Vautin and Seer also commented on the talented first year class, whose job it will be to pick up some of the slack resulting from the juniors who are studying abroad. “We have some quick first-year cross-country runners… who will hopefully help the team this year,” Vautin said. “The first year class looks very strong all around. There are some sprinters that are showing lots of potential as well as a few jumpers and hurdlers,” Seer said. “Overall, the first years on the team are a force to be reckoned with.” The men’s team is also excited about the new recruiting class. This year the Pioneers will have three home meets; two during the indoor season and one during the outdoor season. The first is the ACM Invite at 10:00 a.m. on February 2. The next meet is the Darren Young Classic at 10:00 a.m. on February 9. The outdoor meet hosted by the Pioneers will be the Dick Young Classic at 8:00 a.m. on April 20. The meets will need volunteers to serve as officials, who will receive a free lunch and t-shirt. “[The team] would also love it if people came and supported us at these meets. …I race the 10k and spectators help me so much,” Vautin said. Swim team tans, tones and trains in Florida By Alysia Horcher [email protected] During winter break, about half of the men and women’s swimming and diving teams traveled 1,500 miles to Naples, Florida for two tough weeks of training, as well as a meet against Connecticut College. The team left Grinnell on a bus on January 2 and returned on the afternoon of January 15, when they were joined by the rest of the team for a week of practice before the Pioneer Invite. While in Florida, the team enjoyed the beautiful weather, but rest and relaxation were not on the itinerary. Coach Erin Hurley had the team up bright and early for 7 a.m. practice, which swimmers described as being nothing short of intense. In the afternoon, the swimmers returned to the pool for dryland exercises, running and another practice. “The practices were challenging and consisted of a lot more yards than a typical practice we would do at Grinnell,” said Danielle Phillips ’15. The divers also had tough practices, but many of them, including Milton Garcia ’14, benefited by learning quite a few new dives. The meet against Connecticut College proved to be a challenge as both the men and women came out defeated. “Connecticut College is a very fast team that competes in a conference that is just on a different level than the Midwest Conference. However, we held our own and had some great swims and close races,” Phillips said. “It was exciting to swim against such fast competitors. Overall, it was a good experience for the team that really pushed us to come together and rise to a challenge.” “Everyone swam really well, especially considering how tired we all are from the training,” added Michael Brus ’14. Photo by Allison Miller Keeping with the usual team atmosphere of positivity and having fun, the divers made a song to the tune of “little bunny foo foo hopping through the forest” after fellow diver Xiaoxi Yang ’14 stepped on a bee on the pool deck. While the primary focus of the trip was training, the team had the opportunity to meet with alumni and trustees at a luncheon. “That [lunch] is probably one of the highlights of the trip because we get to connect with some alumni and get to eat really good food,” Brus said. The team also did some community service at a nature reserve where they helped to remove invasive species from the forest. The swimmers enjoyed a beach day, which was a highlight of the trip for many. The team has a busy few weeks ahead of them. On Friday, February 1 they will be hosting a meet against UNL Swim Club. The following day, Saturday, February 2, they will be hosting a meet against Coe College. The season will be winding down quickly as the team prepares to host the Midwest Conference Championships beginning on Friday, February 15 and continuing through Sunday afternoon. Men’s basketball continues quest to host conference tourney By Graham Fisher [email protected] With seven games left in the season, the men’s basketball team looks like it will finish strong and make a final push to host conference playoffs.