ELKHART, Ind. – When the anchor leg of the 400-yard freestyle relay hit the wall, all heads turned to the scoreboard above the pool inside the Elkhart Aquatic Center. However, most eyes were not looking for the final times of the race but instead the final point totals of the national championship meet. As the scoreboard updated, it did not take long to realize that the Lindsey Wilson women's swimming team had jumped ahead of Mid-South rival Cumberlands (Ky.) and clinched the program's best all-time finish with a third-place effort.

"We knew coming in that we had a good chance to finish inside in top-five and even the top-three," notes head coach Alicia Kemnitz. "NAIA competition is getting better and better every year so I could not be prouder. We had seven men and seven women at nationals this year, so it's quite the feat."

The Blue Raiders, in all, finished the week tied with Keiser (Fla.) for the most titles with six. They also secured five runners-up en route to 15 total All-American performances.

Graduate senior Maaike Broersma won her third individual title of the week in the 200-yard backstroke after the entering the final session seeded third. The win is her second career for the event and ninth overall. She also became the seventh different women's swimmer in NAIA history to win three or more individual championships in the same season, multiple times in their career.

"This week was incredible," expresses Broersma. "I think the highlight was winning the 200-yard freestyle relay. There were definitely expectations for us, but I think we even we did not expect to do as well as we did."

For her outstanding efforts, Broersma was named the NAIA Women's Swimmer of the Year for the second time in as many years.

"I was just trying to do my thing and swim as fast as I can," says Broersma. "I am really honored to win the award again. The support system that I have is the main reason why I am here. I am really sad to think that my college career is ending by I am also happy with what I have accomplished, and I could not have done it without my family and teammates."

Kirsten de Goede continued her standout meet with a second national championship in the 100-yard freestyle. Her winning time of 48.91 seconds set another NAIA national record, her second of the week. It also helped her best Katherine Dyer of The Master's (Calif.) who had previously beat de Goede in the 200-yard individual medley.

"I think I swam really well this week. When I first came to Lindsey Wilson, I did not think I would be swimming this week throughout the season," says de Geode. "It's great to have fierce competition. Katherine and I follow each other on social media and after the races we were congratulating each other because we pushed each other to swim our best."

De Goede's win in the 100-yard freestyle is Lindsey Wilson's first national championship in the event since Alexis Kessler won it in 2018. De Geode also becomes the first swimmer in 10 years to win both the 100 and 200-yard freestyles in the same season.

Nathalie Medina collected two individual All-American honors during Saturday's evening session. The freshman first finished seventh in the 1,650-yard freestyle, becoming Lindsey Wilson's only All-American for the mile, then placed fifth in the 200-yard butterfly less than two hours later.

"It was really tough mentally," says Medina. "I was ready to push myself and I felt all the emotions going through my head and that's what pushed me to go hard in both races and try to win not only for me but for the whole team."

Broersma, de Goede, Medina ended the night teamed up with Natalia Gorska in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The quartet gave everything they had left in the tank and earned the program's best all-time finish the race, touching the wall in second place.

Prior to the announcement of the final scores, coach Kemnitz was named the NAIA Women's Head Coach of the Year for the first time in her 15-year career.

"It really is awesome," expresses Kemnitz. "That award is voted on a ballot by my peers, so to know how they respect me as a coach and what I have accomplished is special. This is the one week a year where I am a social butterfly because I love talking with all my fellow coaches. This means a lot coming from a group of people I love and respect."