Rams Build Two Dual Wins at Home

The entire swim season is about the build.

Not just for Christopher Woodard's Colorado State team, but the individuals who construct the roster. Depending on the point of the season and various factors, times will tell a competitor a story. With experience comes the knowledge in reading what they actually mean.

Now in her junior campaign, Tess Whineray has a better grasp of what her times from Friday's double dual victories over Denver (157-143) and Colorado Mesa (218-85) are telling her. Freshman Quinn Whorley, she's learning as this goes along, not only trying to build an inaugural run, but set the foundation for a career.

Coming from Lake Forest Park, Wash., she didn't know exactly where to start her search, but she's found clues in the early going.

"No, not really, but I think that practice is a really good way to start," she said. "Woody and Lisa (Ginder, the associate head coach) push us and challenge us in a different way every single day. And the upperclassmen are kind of taking us along and showing us the ropes. So, I feel like that's kind of the way that we're starting to find a career.

"I think asking all the upperclassmen what's going on, what's happening. But then we're also in charge of our own warm-ups. So, finding the ropes of how did the distance warm-up? How did the sprint warm-up? And then there's all the fine-tuning in the races and, OK that wasn't as good as last time. What can I do better? With me, it's my walls. So, it's always asking when my wall is good, how are my splits looking? Just continuing to ask those questions and get positive feedback from the coaches and the upperclassmen and the students."

Whinery smiles at those days, which she full on experienced and maybe more so having come from New Zealand where she spent her entire youth swimming meters, not yards. At first, the times didn't translate, nor did the idea there were so many walls.

As you advance in a career, you figure things out. When she posted wins in both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes in the meet – common dual results for her – she could look at her splits and her finals times and tell if she is on track at this point or she needs some catching up to do.

The final verdict is she's just fine, posting a 54.60 in the shorter event, a 2:00.34 in the longer one. And unlike Whorley, she has a baseline and a few All-Mountain West honors to her credit.

"It's definitely a mental difference. I know where I'm at coming in, and I know where I want to be to be to get to my goals by the end of the season," Whineray said. "I feel more confident coming into the season, because as a freshman you don't know what's going on, who you're racing, anything. Now I really like the point where I'm at, where I can go, 'OK, I know how to race it, I know how to get through a dual meet, and, yeah, just have fun with it now.

"That is really important, especially coming from meters to yards, I had no idea. Freshman year I was like, 'OK, a 55, a 56, it means nothing to me. But now I know, if I'm hitting 54-mids this early in the season, that gives me confidence going forward, because my personal best is 53. That's pretty close. And a 2:00, I'm happy with that. I can definitely read it and know at midseason I could go this time because of how I'm going so far."

The dual meet was a build for the Rams, too. They had created some early separation with Colorado Mesa – the preseason No. 2 in Division II – but the scores were tight with Denver, and the Pioneers held a narrow lead after the first half.

A win in the opening 200 medley relay (Whineray, Claire Wright, Erin Dawson and Lexie Trietley) helped set the day in motion, but the only individual wins in front half came from Whineray in the 100 back, Trietley in the 50 free, with teammate Azalea Shepherd taking second.

The 100 free started the back half, which is where the Rams started to take off as Shepherd led a 1-2-3 finish from the outside lane, leading Trietley to the wall while Mia Axelman blazed in the second heat. The result was great for that race alone but also carried a double meaning to Woodard.

The 400 free team is starting to look competitive and build depth.

"That has options. The 100 free supercharged us, and then we go 1-2 in the (200) back and that kind of sent us off, but yeah, we're really happy," Woodard said. "We've got legitimately six-to-eight 100 freestylers who could really play around for an 'A' relay spot. We know we've got one or two lockdowns, but everybody else in there gives us depth as well. So, having an 'A' and a 'B' is good, and I think that's true of our medley as well. I'm really happy with our relays."

The build continued, as Sophia Hemingway was second to Whineray in the 200 back, then Dawson posted victories in the 500 free and the 200 individual medley to keep the Rams moving forward. Diving was taking place at the same time, so no one was actually sure how those scores would factor in, but finding out Maggie Di Scipio won the 3-meter and Sydney Ovesen was second on the 1-meter helped.

Then the proof came in the final event, the 400 free, with the squad of Shepherd, Axelman, Whineray and Trietley winning. And to prove Woodard's point further, Ashlyn Hembree's first 100 for the 'B' squad was the fastest opening leg. Those results sealed the win, making it seven dual victories in a row for the Rams, dating back to last season.

Whineray is one of the conference's best backstrokers, but she's still trying to sort out a third event or if all five relays are in her future.

"I like being on the relays, which is fun. Woody does like the 200 free option. I would like the 50 free option more," she said with a smile. "Whatever the team needs, I can do it, because it's not on a day when I have backstrokes because now the conference lineup is different. I have 200 free on the same day as the 100 back, but now they're split. So, there's a possibility that I could do that, and it wouldn't interfere with anything else. But I'd like to do the 50 free."

Whorley knows what her future will hold, and that will be distance freestyle.

She scored points in both the 500 and 1,000 frees on the day, and she scored well in the first invitational of the season. In each instance Friday, she built throughout the race to a better finish than where she stood at the midpoint.

"I really enjoy distance swimming because I get to find that rhythm and find ways to stay in it. I don't do well with the splash-and-dash, whatever they call them," Whorley said. "I just really enjoy the longer races because I kind of get to get into the rhythm and stay there. I would say I've always kind of been that way. That's been my thing."

As for the swimming thing and figuring it out on the college level, she's not alone. There are 12 freshmen on the squad this season, nine of them in the lanes and three divers. That presents a dynamic the coaching staff must face in the early going.

Setting expectations is just the first step. Teaching them how to read the signs comes later.

"You want to educate them on, OK, what is it going to feel like at altitude, and what are some of the things that we want to do?" Woodard said. "At the same time, do not get overly analytical or excuse it, because the bottom line is it's still racing. You have to go no matter what. I don't care whether we're at 7,200 feet or down at sea level. So yeah, it's a balancing act.

The first helpful part for Whorley is having the fellow freshmen with her, all of them learning along at the same time. They are the biggest part of the team, saying it makes them all feel less alone.

The second part is the upperclassmen, who she says have built an atmosphere which is positive, engaging and allows for an encouraging headspace. She points to some quality early season swims as an example of what that creates. The upperclassmen, they know what it's like, and have taken steps to help created a safe space from which to grow.

"I'm trying to approach them more, because as a freshman, I wouldn't have gone out to anyone to ask questions or anything," Whineray said. "I feel if I can go and help them, if they have a question that they are too scared to ask, then I can be there already."

Learning to build a season, even a debut one, is the first step to constructing a career.

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Players Mentioned

Mia Axelman

Erin Dawson

Maggie Di Scipio

Ashlyn Hembree

Sophia Hemingway

Sydney Ovesen

Azalea Shepherd

Lexie Trietley

Tess Whineray

Quinn Whorley

Claire Wright