Despite Marshall University’s swimming and diving team failing to qualify for the 2016 Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, members of the Herd consider the season a success.
Junior diver Heather Lonkert said while she is disappointed the team did not advance, she feels the Herd had a great season that ended on a high note.
Marshall junior Megan Wolons finished with an 11th place time of 193.35 March 9 in the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships.
Wolons was the team’s top finisher in the 3-meter dive as well with a 25th place score of 235.05, while Lonkert finished second for the Herd with a 40th place score of 210.70.
In the Conference USA Swimming & Diving Championship Feb. 27, Marshall earned a third-place finish, which was the highest finish in the program’s history.
Lonkert ended her season claiming a fourth-place ranking at conference with a diving score of 265.10 in the B Final.
“We did really well at conference as a team coming in third,” Lonkert said. “But I think we could have done better.”
Lonkert said she focused on consistency this year and tried to build her confidence for difficult dives.
“Being a diver can be really subjective,” Lonkert said. “So, you just have to train harder. Every diver has that one dive that they fear, and I just worked to overcome my fear of the reverse dive.”
Lonkert, who participated in gymnastics for years before falling in love with diving, said she set goals to motivate herself this season, which helped her with some of the fears she has with her dives.
Lonkert said the Herd has high expectations for next season and plans to leave the conference tournament as championships.
The 2016 Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships began Wednesday at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The four-day meet features 41 student-athletes in the diving championships.
Danielle Wright can be contacted at [email protected].