FAIRBANKS - The Alaska Nanooks swimming team entered 2024-25 having improved in each of the past two seasons, finishing ninth in the Pacific Collegiate Swim and Dive Conference (PCSC) Championships in 2022-23 and seventh in 2023-24. With eight newcomers joining the squad for the season and a solid core of returners, Alaska looked to continue its progression up the PCSC ranks.
The season began with a pair of dual meets against Division I San Diego State at home on Oct. 11-12. They dropped both meets 125-75 and 121-78 but showed promise for the season ahead.
Up next were two more dual meets vs. fellow PCSC member Fresno Pacific, taking on the Sunbirds on Nov. 1-2 at the Patty Center Pool. During these meets, the Nanooks put together two dominant performances, defeating the Sunbirds 145-59 on day one and 147-57 on day two. The opening meet began with the 'Nooks winning the 200-yard medley relay, where Charlotte Fletcher-Stables, Dorka Dancsok, Cosima Schmiedel and Janci Pangburn led the pack with a 3:59.79. They would win 10 of their 11 events that day, with Pangburn and Dancsok tallying two victories apiece. Pangburn won the 50-yard freestyle after posting a 24.71 and took first in the 100-yard freestyle with a 53.66. Dancsok added victories in the 200-yard IM (2:12.12) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:07.73). On day two, Dancsok logged a team-high two individual event victories in the 400-yard IM and 200-yard breaststroke, posting times of 4:52.25 and 2:30.02, respectively.
The Nanooks made their presence felt at the Logger Invitational on Nov. 23-25, placing second as a team with 992 points, up from their tally of 650.5 the previous season. They sat in first after the first day of the meet, with Fletcher-Stables and Dancsok earning victories in the 50-yard backstroke and 200-yard IM, respectively. Dancsok added wins in the 400-yard IM and 100-yard breaststroke, posting times of 4:34.53 and 1:05.62 in the two events. Her time in the 400 IM was over six seconds in front of the second-place swimmer. On the final day of competition, Dancsok was just 0.68 seconds from winning all four of her events at the invite, finishing with a 2:21.77 in the 200-yard breaststroke to place second. Schmiedel was also close to claiming victory in the 200-yard butterfly, posting a 2:08.35 to finish 0.23 seconds behind first.
The 'Nooks swept Westmont in their next two dual meets, taking down the Warriors 156-49 and 158-47 on Jan. 17-18. Alaska won all 22 events across the two meets, with several multi-event winners. Dancsok and Ali Pecore notched two wins on day one; Pecore led the way in the 200 (1:57.73) and 500-yard freestyle (5:23.40), while Dancsok earned victories in the 200-yard IM (2:12.63) and 100-yard breaststroke (1:08.14). Dancsok added two more wins in the second meet, placing first in the 200-yard butterfly (2:13.26) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:27.60), and Tori Shoemaker joined her with two wins in the 500 (5:26.29) and 1000-yard freestyle (10:59.27).
The season concluded with the PCSC Championships on Feb. 12-15, where the Nanooks would look to make one final push for the postseason. The four days of competition saw numerous personal bests and two podium finishes, with the Nanooks finishing the meet in fifth-place with 909.5 points, their best finish since the 2013-14 season when they placed third with 929 points. The relay team of Fletcher-Stables, Dancsok, Schmiedel and Pangburn placed third in the 200-yard medley relay. They posted a 1:44.78, surpassing their previous best time of 1:45.10 recorded earlier this season. Fletcher-Stables would also win the 100-yard backstroke, her second straight victory in the event at the PCSC Championships. She finished with a 55.59, 0.2 seconds ahead of teammate Jordan O'Connor, whose second-place result gave the Nanooks a 1-2 finish.
CSCAA College National Open Water Championship 5k
Over the winter break, Tori Shoemaker participated in the CSCAA College National Open Water Championship 5k in Biscayne Bay, Fla., on Dec. 15. In the 5k race, she placed 12th among all swimmers in the event and finished with the fastest time among Division II swimmers. Her time of 1:07:20.70 was 1:45.90 faster than the next closest DII swimmer.
Head coach Ksenia Gromova spoke about her performance after the race, saying, "Tori was holding strong and was swimming in the leading pack. At some point, she was leading the pack, but her cap fell off around the last 300 meters, her hair got in the way and a few people passed her. We are very proud of her. Finishing 12th out of 125 swimmers across all college leagues and all divisions is phenomenal. We are beyond proud of Tori."
Postseason Push
The Nanooks hit nine NCAA B Standard times during the season in their quest for an NCAA Championships selection, tripling their total of three from the 2023-24 season. Janci Pangburn would hit her first of two NCAA B Cuts at the Logger Invitational with a 51.51 in the 100-yard freestyle. Her second came at the PCSC Championships, where she posted a 23.74 in the 50-yard freestyle. Tori Shoemaker added a pair of B Cuts in the 1000 and 1650-yard freestyle, recording times of 10:24.07 and 17:17.73, both set at the PCSC Championships. Alaska got three more B Cuts in the backstroke during the conference championships, with Charlotte Fletcher-Stables hitting the times in the 100 (55.28) and 200-yard backstroke (2:02.63), and O'Connor joining her with a 55.79 in the 100 backstroke. Dorka Dancsok logged the final two B Cuts on the team, posting a 1:04.02 in the 100-yard breaststroke and a 4:25.99 in the 400-yard IM at the PCSC Championships.
Top-10
The Nanooks saw several swimmers put themselves in the top 10 times in program history for several events, including 10 top-three times in individual and relay events. Alaska had three swimmers crack the top 10 in the 50-yard freestyle, with Janci Pangburn leading the way with a 23.74, which ranks fifth in program history. Jordan O'Connor and Ali Pecore followed with the sixth and seventh-best times, respectively, posting a 23.81 and 24.02 in the event. Pangburn and O'Connor would also notch top-10 times in the 100-yard freestyle; Pangburn posted a 51.51 to rank third while O'Connor swam to a 51.97 to rank sixth.
In the 200-yard freestyle, Ali Pecore recorded the fifth-fastest time, finishing the event in 1:53.30, and Pangburn's 1:53.42 put her seventh on the list. Pecore also ranks in the top 10 for the 500 freestyle; her 5:07.96 is 10th all-time. Meanwhile, Tori Shoemaker notched three top-10 times during the season, ranking eighth in the 500 freestyle (5:07.42), third in the 1000 freestyle (10:24.07) and second in the 1650 freestyle (17:17.73). Naomi Burgan's 10:40.48 is good for ninth in the 1000-yard freestyle.
Cosima Schmiedel posted the ninth-best times in the 400-yard IM (4:33.57) and 200-yard breaststroke (2:26.37), eighth-best time in the 100-yard butterfly (58.23) and third-best time in the 200-yard butterfly (2:05.71). Adeline Berry notched the ninth-fastest time in the 100 and 200 butterfly, posting a 58.31 and 2:12.59, respectively, while Dorka Dancsok swam to the 10th-best time in the 200 butterfly after finishing in 2:13.16. Dancsok also ranks third in the 100 and 200 breaststroke with a 1:04.02 and 2:20.42 set during the 2024-25 season.
O'Connor added two top-10 times in the backstroke, ranking fourth in the 100 (55.79) and seventh in the 200-yard backstroke (2:04.66). Charlotte Fletcher-Stables swam to the second-best time in the 200 backstroke with her 2:02.63 set at the PCSC Championships.
In relays, the 'Nooks added 11 more top-10 times. Pecore, O'Connor, Pangburn and Sam Bristor set the two fastest times in the 200-yard freestyle relay, finishing the event in 1:34.28 and 1:34.68. They also recorded the fourth-best time in the 400-yard freestyle relay with a 3:28.63, while Pangburn, O'Connor, Bristor and Fletcher-Stables followed just 0.01 seconds behind them in fifth with a 3:28.64. The Nanooks had three teams crack the top 10 in the 800-yard freestyle relay; Pecore, Schmiedel, Bristor and Pangburn rank fifth with a time of 7:44.92, Dancsok, Pecore, Pangburn and Bristor rank eighth with a 7:49.56 and Schmiedel, Shoemaker, O'Connor and Fletcher-Stables sit in 10th with a 7:52.72.
Fletcher-Stables, Dancsok, Schmiedel and Pangburn notched a pair of times in the top 10 for the 200-yard medley relay, with their 1:44.78 putting them sixth and their 1:45.10 tying them for ninth. They also rank fifth in the 400-yard medley relay, posting a 3:49.10. Finally, the relay team of Fletcher-Stables, Dancsok, Schmiedel and O'Connor swam to the second-fastest time in the 400-yard medley relay, finishing in 3:47.11.
Looking Ahead
As the Nanooks conclude a season filled with personal and program-best performances and sizable improvements in individual and team results, they look to continue their success into the 2025-26 season.
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