“Records are made to be broken. How many years did people go thinking that anybody could ever beat Spitz? It happens. Just when, that’s the question.” – Swimmer Michael Phelps, whose 8 gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics topped Mark Spitz.
“Way to go Emma! Records are made to be broken!” – Swimmer Katie Ledecky, after 12-year-old Emma Lantry broke Ledecky’s 12-and-under 50m breaststroke record in 2019.
Mark Spitz was the best male swimmer in the world in the 1970s, a decade when AC swim coaches Bill Snyder & Sig Lawson were training Roos for NAIA competition. Spitz, famous for his 7 gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympics, held 10 world records at the height of his swimming career. Mark Spitz cracked the ESPN Sports Century Top 50 Greatest Athletes in 1999, the only swimmer to do so.
Natalie Coughlin was the best female swimmer in the world in the early 2000s, just a decade after my AC pledge brother Barry Holcomb was earning the Hannah Award for most outstanding male Roo swimmer. Coughlin, a 12-time Olympic medalist, held 5 world records at the height of her swimming career. Coughlin is considered an icon in the sport of women’s swimming.
And yet, despite the success of these towering figures, neither of them holds a world record today. All of Spitz’s & Coughlin’s records were surpassed, primarily by the best male and female swimmers in the world: Michael Phelps & Katie Ledecky.
In the elite world of NCAA D3 swimming, an A-cut time is an automatic NCAA tournament qualifier while a B-cut time is a potential qualifier depending upon the number of A-cuts. At Austin College, Lauren Elizabeth Hutton (formerly Lauren Wheeler) earned an NCAA B-cut time in the 200 backstroke, placing 70th in the nation in 2013. That incredible effort just barely missed qualifying for the NCAA D3 Meet.
By the time she departed Sherman, Hutton was the fastest female Roo ever in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 free, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 100 medley, 200 medley, and as a part of the 200 free relay team. Hutton held an amazing NINE AC swimming records, including a 2015 SCAC conference winning time of 57.99 in the 100 backstroke. Hutton was the first Roo to ever win an SCAC conference event.
But don’t look now Lauren, because those nine records are now down to just two. And soon that two will be zero. Why? Because “records are made to be broken.”
Most of Hutton’s records have been broken by Sammi Thiele, who will represent Austin College at the 2023 NCAA D3 Men’s & Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships in Greensboro, NC. Thiele also now owns the AC records in the 50 free, 100 free, 200 medley, 400 medley, and the 100 backstroke. Like Hutton, Thiele’s SCAC conference record time of 56.22 in the 100 backstroke last month was an NCAA B-cut time.
Thiele’s B-cut, however, was just barely fast enough to qualify for Greensboro. While Hutton still holds the fastest female Roo times ever in the 200 backstroke (her B-cut time) and 100 butterfly, it’s just a matter of time before those records fall as well. And it would not be surprising if Thiele were the woman to break them.
Sammi Thiele’s invitation to Greensboro makes her the first Roo swimmer to ever earn a spot at the NCAA D3 Championships. The NCAA D3 Meet begins March 15th; I plan on watching the live stream from North Carolina (see the comments). Good luck Sammi at the NCAA Meet, and thanks for making us proud to be Roos. Enjoy all of your AC swimming records on the “big board” at Hannah Natatorium, just as Hutton did at graduation in this fantastic photo of hers that I’ve shared today.
But Sammi, don’t get too comfortable with your name up there on the big board. The world records of Michael Phelps & Katie Ledecky are already being overtaken. And like Lauren, your amazing AC records will be replaced too. And you know why.
Because in the world of elite swimmers, “records are made to be broken.”
https://www.acroos.com/…/2022-23/releases/20230223bk5xqs
https://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/17302732
