Sports

Hibberd swims to two NAIA titles in St. Louis

By Matt Lee

Clan sophomore David Hibberd has only been swimming for Simon Fraser for two years, but he’s quickly establishing himself as one of the school’s most consistent swimmers.

Heading into the NAIA swimming and diving national championships, Hibberd was a proficient competitor in the 100m at the 2009 Clan Cup, specializing in the freestyle and backstroke events.

On March 5 in St. Louis, Hibberd set a new NAIA record in the 200-yard freestyle swim with a time of 1:38.08. He was also part of SFU’s 200-yard freestyle relay championship team, composed of Ben Berg, Adam Kautz, and Greg Laughlin, which posted a time of 1:21.02.

On the final day, Hibberd captured the 100-yard freestyle after completing it in 44.46 seconds, just two-tenths of a second away from setting a new NAIA record. The Calgary native narrowly defeated Fresno Pacific’s Carl Weigley at the line. Later, Hibberd was part of the 400-yard freestyle relay team with Laughlin, Berg, and Kautz, who finished second with a time of 3:02.30 in the finals.

Among the other men’s swimmers, Greg Laughlin finished fourth in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:49.54 in the finals, while Burnaby senior Niels Muntzenburger earned a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly event after posting a time of 1:50.26. The men finished sixth overall in the meet.

For the women, seniors Emma West-Sadler and Suzanne Wuolle had strong outings, as West-Sadler came in second in the 200-yard backstroke, while Wuolle chalked up a third place finish in the 1,650-yard freestyle event. Fellow senior Addie Kolybaba also earned third place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 51.64. The women finished fifth overall in the tournament.

The meet marked the last events for senior swimmers Muntzenburger for the men’s side and the end for West-Sadler, Wuolle and Kolybaba, who were all in their fourth year for Simon Fraser.

With the end of the NAIA swimming and diving national championships brings the end of the Clan’s season until next fall, when SFU athletics will be making their first dip into the NCAA waters.

Some members of the men’s and women’s swim teams will take part in the upcoming Pan Pacific Games trials, set for April 1 to 4 in Montreal, SFU’s last competition of the season.

With files from SFU Sports Information