After driving 14 hours to Abilene, Texas, the Simpson College swim team was able to compete against new competition outside of Iowa. 

The team traveled five women and two men, not including head coach Tom Caccia. 

“We make the trip to Texas every other year. I thought we did really well overall. It was a blue-collar trip, kind of like Rocky training in a meat market,” Caccia said. 

There were some opportunities for the team to bond outside of swimming. The team was able to visit the historic site Fort Phantom Hill.

Laser tag, as well as time driving to and from meets, were great bonding experiences for the team. 

“I think as a team we bonded a lot over the course of the week, but I wish we had this trip earlier in the season to really get to know everyone on the team better,” sophomore Alyssa Harris said.

After competing at McMurray University, the team finished up at the Austin College Invitational. 

Danny Turner had a time of 2 minutes, 18.75 seconds in his runner-up performance in the 200-yard breaststroke. Turner also placed fifth in the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.04. Turner was joined by junior Blake Kakacek as the only two men swimmers on the trip. 

Each of the swimmers was only allowed to swim in three events for the invitational. 

“After coming back we are still trying to recover a little bit, not so much emotionally but just physically. At this point in the season, that is exactly what we want,” Caccia said. 

Driving and swimming around the country can wear on any swimmer, but this is what coach Caccia is doing to prepare his team for the Liberal Arts conference championships, which are at the end of the season. 

“We have to be able to swim well when we are tired,” Caccia said.

This will set them up to finish the season at the conference championships Feb. 12-15 in Elsah, IL. The event will take place at Principia College, which is next to St. Louis. 

“Our Liberal Arts conference championship is coming up at Principia, and we have experience of long drives under our belts so we should be able to perform well there,” Caccia said. 

The Storm swim team has one more meet against Morningside at home on Jan. 25 at 1 p.m before the conference championship.