Saturday was the perfect day for swimming. With the sun shining and temperature at a comfortable 80 degrees, it was cool enough to spend the entire day outdoors but still warm enough for the water to feel nice and refreshing.

The Hilltoppers Swim Club took full advantage of the beautiful day, swimming one of their best meets of the year at the Midwest Conference Championship in O’Fallon. Though the team fell short of their preseason goal of winning the conference title, it was an awesome ending to a spectacular season…>>>

The Hilltoppers took home a fourth place finish, and had several incredible individual performances.

“It was a great day,” head coach Salle Plunkett said. “We had several swimmers set personal bests today. We’re always pushing for improvement and everyone really pushed their hardest today.”

Six team members took home high point trophies for their age groups. Emily Traube was first in the 9-10 girls division, capping off a stellar day in which she broke a record in the 100-meter individual medley. Dylan Murphy took second place in the 9-10 boys age group.

The Hilltoppers were also well represented in the 11-12 age groups, as Maddy Rey was second in the girls division and Alex Rosenkranz and Carter Nelson tied for the top spot among the boys. In addition to winning the high point award, Rosenkranz also set a new record on Saturday in the 50-meter breaststroke, shattering the old mark by more than one second.

Last but not least, Austin Beccue took home second place in the 15-18 boys division. One of the Hilltoppers’ most consistent swimmers, Beccue won or finished near the top in all of his events.

The Hilltoppers swimmers also made their coaches proud out of the water, once again demonstrating sportsmanship and class.

“Our team was so supportive throughout the day,” assistant coach Linda Wheatley said. “We cheered for each other, we cheered for the other teams. We always take a lot of pride in showing great sportsmanship.”

The summer season has come to an end for the Hilltoppers, but with so many swimmers continuing to swim in the winter, you can bet that the team will be ready to make waves once again in 2015.