League honoree Schmidt leads NMU swimmers in Detroit
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Northern Michigan University freshman Rowan Schmidt was named the GLIAC Women's Swimmer of the Week after a 60-point performance at the Hard Hat Invitational held at Wayne State University in Detroit last Friday and Saturday. (Photo courtesy NMU)
That was freshman Rowan Schmidt of Oregon City, Oregon, who was named the Women's Swimmer of the Week by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. This was her second weekly league honor this season after she earned her first following a double meet at St. Cloud State in early October.
For the award this time, Schmidt led the nationally ranked No. 11 Wildcat women to a runner-up finish among three ranked teams at the four-team Hard Hat Invitational held at Wayne State in Detroit on Friday and Saturday.
The No. 17 NMU men were there, too, and took third place in their meet among the same four schools, again with three of them nationally ranked.
Schmidt had to be considered the star, however, winning three events in the women's meet -- the 100-yard backstroke that she swam in 57.00 seconds, the 200 backstroke in 2:05.30 and the 100 butterfly in 58.50.
She also swam the butterfly leg of Northern's runner-up 400 medley relay team and a leg of the second-place 400 freestyle relay. She also swam in the 200 free relay, while taking 10th in the 200 free.
For the season, she holds the top time in the GLIAC in the 100 back in 55.62 seconds, adding in the fifth best in both the 200 back of 2:03.37 and 100 fly of 57.27.
"Rowan has really been a standout first-year woman for the Wildcats," Northern head coach Heidi Voigt said in an NMU Sports Information news release detailing Schmidt's honor. "She comes to practice every day with the drive to be better, and we're all so excited for her this year."
Already this season, the Wildcat women have won four weekly awards, Grace Daly earning Diver of the Week following the St. Cloud trip, and Evangeline Pierce the top swimmer award after a home weekend vs. Grand Valley State, Saginaw Valley State and Lake Superior State.
The Northern men have two weekly awards of their own, both by Matteo Ballardin after the St. Cloud meets and the home weekend with GVSU, SVSU and LSSU.
After competing on back-to-back weekends, the NMU swimmers and divers take a Thanksgiving break, returning to swim and dive from Dec. 3-6 at the four-day Calvin Invitational in Grand Rapids.
Here are more details from Detroit:
Women
NMU scored 802 1/2 points as national No. 8 Findlay won with 919, the host No. 17 Warriors had 800 1/2 and LSSU 339 at Wayne State's Matthaei Natatorium on its campus.
Schmidt totaled 60 points by herself with her three golds and a silver.
Senior teammate Annika Geyer was next best, scoring 49 points as she was second in the 1,650 free and 200 fly and swimming a leg in the runner-up 400 free relay.
Senior Abigail Keen earned 43 points with a second place as leadoff in the 400 free relay, adding fourth in the 100 free, and fifth in both the 50 and 200 free.
Sophomore Laura Stockinger accumulated 40 points with three runner-up finishes as anchor of three relays, also placing third in the 100 free.
The runner-up 200 medley relay included Stockinger, Pierce, Ludovica Bonini and Wiktoria Michaluk, while the fourth-place 200 free relay included Keen, Stockinger, Victoria Burda and Sydney Matheny.
Then the runner-up 400 medley relay was composed of Pierce, Bonini, Schmidt and Stockinger, with the second-place 400 free relay having Keen, Geyer, Stockinger and Carlotta Santi.
Men
Northern scored 634 points as No. 11 Wayne State won its own meet with 1,009 1/2, No. 10 Findlay runner-up with 799 1/2 and Lake State fourth with 374.
Freshman Charlie Prince led the Wildcats and was the top men's scorer not from the host Warriors, totaling 53 points as he was eighth best overall. He was third in the 200 breaststroke, swam the breast in the third-place 400 medley relay, and placed fifth in the 100 breast.
Close on his heels, though, was senior teammate Alessandro Rosatelli with 52 points and freshman Matteo Medina with 50.
Rosatelli was third twice, doing that in the 400 individual medley and 400 free relay, while Medina won the 1,650 free in 16:17.29 and was third in the 500 free.
NMU had a trio of bronze-medal, third-place relays -- the 200 free relay with Ballardin, Mateo Gomez Ravecca, Youssef Nahali and Gabriel Fulconi; 400 medley relay with Prince, Ballardin, Gomez Ravecca and Mosley Patzke; and 400 free relay with Gomez Ravecca, Nahali, Rosatelli and Fulconi.
The Wildcats' 200 medley relay was fourth with Patzke, Nahali, Ballardin and Fulconi.
Story contents based on a pair of Northern Michigan University Sports Information press releases reviewing the meet and the honors. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee's email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.