Men's and women's swim teams take home several medals, finish with the most points out of all teams
On Saturday, Jan. 17, 2025 the Marauders swim team participated in back-to-back meets at their home invitational. The Marauders came out on top, getting the most points out of all the other schools.
The day was split into two competitions. The first half was a tri-meet against the Guelph Gryphons and the Waterloo Warriors. The second was a dual meet against the Brock Badgers.
The Marauders made strong performances across the board, with a particularly notable one from first-year swimmer Brian Dietz. He competed in three races: the 200-metre men’s freestyle, 100-metre backstroke and the 400-metre individual medley, coming first, second and first, respectively. All together, Dietz took home three medals.
It was also a great start to the day for the women’s team. Much like the men's team, younger swimmers made their mark. First-year Nicole Carter came first in the 200-metre individual medley, second in the 100-metre breaststroke and third in the 50-metre breaststroke.
It was also a great start to the day for the women’s team. Much like the men's team, younger swimmers made their mark. First-year Nicole Carter came first in the 200-metre individual medley, second in the 100-metre breaststroke and third in the 50-metre breaststroke.
Her teammate, second-year student Mikaela Blake, also performed well, capturing gold and silver in the 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke, respectively.
Third-year student Michelle Wang won two golds in the women’s 50-metre butterfly and the 100-metre backstroke.
As the first half of the day came to a close, McMaster finished first overall with a combined sum of 1843 points.
As the first half of the day came to a close, McMaster finished first overall with a combined sum of 1843 points.
But it did not stop there for the Marauders. In their dual meet against the Brock Badgers, McMaster scored 2,015 points. The men contributed 989 of those points and the women contributed 1,026 points. Sara Gray, a first-year swimmer, took home three golds in the 100-metre breaststroke, 50-metre breaststroke and the 200-metre Individual Medley.
Wang also tallied up a few more medals, winning gold in the 100-metre butterfly and 50-metre freestyle and silver in the 50-metre backstroke.
This successful event was the last invitational for the Marauders swim team. Next, they will compete in the OUA championships in Markham, ON, from Feb. 7 - Feb. 9, 2025.
“We were expecting maybe some sort of street party, with a smaller stage.…but it was a big deal with so many people coming out… we were just blown out of the water,” said lead singer Tony Dekker.
Throughout the concert, the band (composed of Dekker, Erik Arnesen on banjo and guitar, back-up singer Miranda Mulholland, Bret Higgins on upright bass and drummer Greg Millson) played several songs from their brand-new album New Wild Everywhere. Mulholland captured the audience’s attention with her passionate and spirited playing in “Easy Come Easy Go” and “Great Exhale.” The concert was a testament to Dekker’s belief that the band had matured; it was certainly clear that the band had coalesced and developed a holistic and full sound.
New Wild Everywhere is the first studio-produced album for the GLS. Another big difference was the addition of Mulholland on back-up vocals and violin. Dekker described the natural inclination to bring Miranda on board following her successful run with them during the Lost Channels tour. Her fiery presence was a constant source of energy throughout the concert
“She adds a lot of flavour and has a lot of experience under her belt. She has a great sense of style and playing, having played [violin] for years now,” Dekker said.
As a long-time fan of the GLS, I have found that there is no other band that has so poetically and beautifully woven ecological metaphors to describe our daily social relations. “ Your Rocky Spine” and “Changing Colours” are two examples that take the physical natural landscape and transpose it to apply to the concrete parts of human behavior and appearance. I asked Dekker about how ecology shapes his daily life and what environmental issues he believed were paramount.
He said, “I’m currently part of a campaign for preserving the Great Bear Rainforest, near the Haida Gwaii region in BC. They are talking of putting extensive pipelines under the area… I agree with the [idea of] possessing the environment to appreciate it and I don’t want to get overtly preaching in our music…but there could be huge damage done to an area which deserves to be protected.”
What struck me was how important the environment is to both the GLS and Dekker himself, yet he made it clear that it should not overtake the importance of the band’s sound. We discussed the continued success of the GLS and folk music in general, which Dekker described as, “[something] that will always be deeply seeded in our culture in Canada.”
While their concert on Sept. 19 wowed long-time fans like myself who felt that seeing them live truly captured the depth of the GLS, they certainly impressed the people standing around me who had no prior knowledge of them. Dekker noted that as the band continues to refine their sound, it has been amazing to find an ever-expanding audience, reaching more people even within Canada.
Aissa Boodhoo-Leegsma, Senior News Editor
