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MISHAWAKA—After a disappointing end to their 2020-21 season, the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams got some good news this past week. Normally, the All-American awards are given after the national tournament to those who performed exceptionally well during the event. The NAIA, however, decided to name those who deserved the recognition of the All-American award based on their status for either an automatic bid or their times that would have put them in the national tournament.
“When we found out that the NAIA national meet was canceled, we were very disappointed,” Coach Deborah Thompson said. “I knew we had several athletes that would have performed well. It was the right thing to do for the NAIA officials to award All-American honors. I'm very proud of our team.”
The Pilots had four men and six women named All-Americans.
On the men’s side, the four All-Americans are the first ever in program history. Those named as All-Americans were Logan Berndt, Caleb Berrong, Dylan Delong and Ean Erling. Berndt set records in four events including the 50 Free, 100 Free, 200 Free, and the 100 Fly. All his times would have qualified him for the national tournament. For Berrong, he set five records in the 100 Back, 100 Breast, 200 Breast, 200 IM (Individual Medley) and the 400 IM. Not only would he have qualified in those events, but also the 100 Free. Delong was recognized as an All-American for his time in the 1650 Free. Lastly, Erling set three records in the 500 Free, 1000 Free and the 1650 Free. He would have qualified for the 500 Free and the 1650 Free.
The women’s side saw six All-Americans be named. Those included Abigail Barnes, Sarah Hyska, Vivienne Kunkler, Emma McClelland, Paula Ronda Bou and Elisabeth Wolfe. Barnes, set two program records in the 100 Back and the 200 Back, qualifying in both events. Hyska set a 50 Free time that would have seen her qualify. Kunkler set a record in the 200 Breast and would have also qualified for the 100 Breast. McClelland set times in the 200 Brest and the 400 IM to qualify. Ronda Bou set three records: the 200 Fly, the 200 IM and the 400 IM. Lastly, Wolfe became the most decorated swimmer in program history, being named an All-American in back-to-back years and setting three records in the 50 Free, 200 Free and the 100 Fly, as well as a time good enough to qualify for the national tournament in the 100 Free.
“I am extremely pleased to see so many of our swimmers being recognized and honored in only our second year,” Thompson said. “Going into next year we are only going to be losing one swimmer. So, it will be great to be able to continue this momentum into next season!”
For more information on the Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving teams, visit www.bupilots.com.
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