A sixth place finish may seem like a disappointment to most teams, but coach Laura Seibold-Caudill was beyond thrilled for her team after the 2012 Mid-American Conference Championships.
"We had the most incredible championship meet I've ever had," Seibold-Caudill said. "I wanted to save the best for last, and we did. We placed higher as a team, but the accomplishments and where we came from was a greater accomplishment."
Ball State's 317-point finish was an improvement from last season's eighth place result. Toledo won the meet title with 635 points.
The team had strong individual performances throughout the three-day meet.
During the championships, Ball State had 11 school records set. Coming into the meet, only one record had been set in the regular season in diving. The team also scored 65 more points in this season's MAC Championships than the previous season.
Of the school records set, sophomore Emily Wisolek set the record in the 200-yard freestyle.
Ball State placed at least one swimmer in the finals in every event except one, and in some instances put two or three athletes into the evening session.
"One of our goals was to represent Ball State with pride," Seibold-Caudill said. "Every event, I was shocked and ecstatic at the number of time drops we had."
One moment from the meet was when senior Sara Hostetler placed into the top eight in the 100-yard butterfly. Seibold-Caudill said her place was the most satisfying of the meet because of what Hostetler has meant to the team this season.
"That made my year," she said. "She's worked so hard on pulling this team together and made a lot of personal sacrifices for the team this season."
The MAC Championships were the final meet for Seibold-Caudill, who is retiring after 33 seasons as coach.
Two Ball State swimmers qualified for the NCAA Championships with B-cut scores. Sophomore Mallory Miles qualified in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly, while sophomore Bridgette Ruehl qualified with the 100- and 200-breaststroke.
Both swimmers are not guaranteed a spot in the NCAA meet, but if their scores are the better of the B-cuts, then they will have a shot of being invited.
Seibold-Caudill's last meet didn't come with a first place finish, but she still found it to be the perfect ending to the season.
"Back when I told the team I was retiring, I told them I wanted to have the best season ever, and we did that," she said. "If I could have meets like that every weekend it would be great. It all came together, and every swimmer on the team can walk away from this meet feeling proud."
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