After having some time off, Western swimmers were expected to be slower than normal regular season swimming because of not competing for a few months and the above normal work load that comes with preseason.

“It’s hard when you’re swimming tired, but we stepped up today,” senior co-captain Mike Podbielski said. “This is the hardest preseason we’ve ever had.”

It didn’t seem to show that Western had been through a tough preseason. Three pool records were broken despite the level of exhaustion.

Junior diver Peyton Thomas qualified for the NCAA ZONE Championships with a score of 327.55 in the mens’ 3 meter dive.

Junior Sean Penhale eclipsed the mark in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:29.53.

Sophomore Claire Donahue took claim of two pool records of her own in the 100 and 200 yard butterfly events.

“I wanted to do a second off my best time unshaved and untapered, and I actually beat my best time besides conference,” she said. “So I was really excited. I wasn’t expecting it.”

Freshman swimmers got their first experience in a college meet this weekend. Their performance didn’t go unnoticed. Some swam well while others still had a little work to do.

“The freshmen always get psyched because it’s their first college competition and some get psyched out of their gourds and that works both ways,” assistant coach Bill Powell said. “Some get too psyched and don’t swim well and some get psyched and swim great. Overall I was pleased but we still have some holes to fill.”

Head coach Bruce Marchionda was pleased with his team’s performance.

“The Red and White is always designed to see how they are responding to the work load that we are giving them,” he said. “For them to get up and swim the way they did today, even as broken down so to speak, as tired as they are, I was very pleased.”

The Toppers will travel to Detroit for a tri-meet on Oct. 25.

Reach Randall Rearden at sports@chherald.com.