Articles Celebrations Obituaries

Science Hill helps stock Milligan swim program

By Jeff Birchfield
Press Sports Writer
jbirchfield@johnsoncitypress.com

 Printer-friendly version

 Email Article

In one way, Milligan College head swimming coach Ron Goehring feels his team is as an extension of a successful program at Science Hill High School.

Two former Hilltoppers, Taylor Duran and Darcee Kubisiak, signed with Milligan its inaugural season. Another SH alum, Aaron Pigford, literally made a big splash for the Buffs last year, while freshman Megan Lorencen is the latest former ’Topper to don Milligan colors.

“It’s great because Science Hill has a high-powered team,” Goehring said Wednesday at the school’s Winter Media Day. “It’s nice to recruit the athletes and have them stay in the area. We feel like we’re continuing the Science Hill tradition at Milligan.”

Each of the three returning swimmers have made solid contributions for the Buffs. Pigford has been at the top of the list, a finalist in the 100 & 200 meter backstroke for the NAIA National Championships as a freshman.

“I actually wanted to do better last year,” said Pigford, now a sophomore. “My times dropped slightly from high school. I’ve been working really hard to bring them back where they were in high school and to get better.”

He seems to be on the right path, currently ranked No. 1 in the Appalachian Athletic Conference in the 100 backstroke after winning a recent race at King College with a time of 1:01.57. Helping his improvement is a training regime which includes working out with weights and doing all-out sprints in the pool.

“I didn’t know I was No. 1 in our conference until coach said it,” Pigford said. “There is some pressure knowing that, but hopefully I can live up to it and beat everybody.”

Goehring calls Kubisiak a quality all-around swimmer who has shown an ability to race well in both the sprints and distance events. She has now qualified for the NAIA Nationals each of her three seasons at Milligan.

“I can put her in any event,” Goehring said. “She’s technically the best in the butterfly, but she can be a distance swimmer when we need it.”

Kubisiak shows an attitude of being happy to oblige any way she can. At the recent King meet, she finished second in the 800 freestyle, second in the 100 butterfly and second as the anchor of the 200 freestyle relay team. As part of the inaugural recruiting class, the junior has enjoyed seeing the program grow as she has grown as an individual.

“It was a little different starting off with a team from scratch,” she said. “But it’s really been a good experience, helping the team grow and seeing new recruits come in. They’ve pushed us in practice and for spots on relays. It’s really helped the team.”

Duran, also a junior, qualified for his second NAIA national meet at Milligan’s season-opening meet. He swam the opening leg for the 200 freestyle relay team, which included Eron Cavanaugh, Chris Fry and Pigford. He said the success of the Aqua Buffs in many ways mirrors his days with the Hilltoppers.

“I wanted to be a part of building up a program,” Duran said. “Science Hill wasn’t that successful when I started as a freshman, but it turned into a great program. It’s been kind of the same experience here. The team is now competitive with a lot of teams, like we beat King this past weekend.”

Lorencen recently got her first taste of college swimming as the anchor on the women’s 400 freestyle relay team. She admitted having so many of her former teammates on the roster helped influence her decision to attend Milligan.

“It made it easier to come here,” Lorencen said. “Even though Darcee is a little older than me, we were friends in high school. I’m excited to be here with her, Taylor and Aaron. It hasn’t been too bad of an adjustment.”

Looking ahead, Duran believes the future is bright for the Milligan swimming program. He envisions a good pipeline of recruits, both locally and around the country, coming to the Carter County campus.

“I believe the next few years you’ll see the program continue to recruit better athletes and the quality of the whole program go up,” Duran said. “I think other good swimmers will want to come here as they see the program be successful. In five years, I think we will be much stronger than we are now.”

For this year, Goehring has ambitious goals, wanting at least five individuals and seven relay teams to qualify for the national meet. For the team standings, he wants the men to finish among the top 10 in the country and the women to finish in the top 20. He believes there won’t be a long wait to see if his teams are up to the task.

“We’re really excited about the year and we’re working hard,” Goehring said. “We go to Sewanee next weekend for an invitational, and that will tell us a lot.”

The Buffs have a challenging schedule ahead with meets next month against national powers Asbury College and the University of the Cumberlands. They also have a dual meet with AAC favorite Union College in early February, only a week before the AAC meet.

———

Other Milligan programs on display at Wednesday’s Media Day were men’s and women’s basketball, and indoor track and field. The men’s basketball team opens its season next Tuesday with an exhibition at East Tennessee State. The women’s team plays Monday at home against Southern Virginia and hosts Berea College the next night.

The indoor track season kicks off December 12 with the MTSU Christmas Invitational in Murfreesboro.