Cizmar's Stellar Career Capped in Birmingham
Birmingham, AL – The University of Findlay swimming and diving team had a special day on the final day of the season. March 11, the last day of the Division II National Championship, saw a pair of school records get bested and also marked the end to the career of one of Findlay's top all-time swimmers.
In the 400 freestyle relay, sophomore Amanda Stiegal led off with a blistering 100 yard swim of 51.24 seconds. That time bested her own school record of 51.40 that she set earlier this season. The relay continued with freshman Lauren Blanchard, freshman Kathryn Samuelson, and freshman Hanna Cederholm. They finished in a time of 3:30.88 and earned 29th place.
Senior Meri Cizmar closed the book on her Findlay career in a special way on Saturday. She swam in the 200 yard backstroke prelims in the morning and qualified for the finals with the third-fastest time of the preliminary races. That time was a 1:57.94, breaking her own Findlay record by almost 1.5 seconds. In the evening, Cizmar swam in the finals and took sixth place with a time of 1:58.56 to earn first team all-American. In her career at Findlay, Cizmar has earned all-American seven times, owns two individual Findlay records, and is a member of three record setting relay teams.