Sarah Radle
In Occidental women’s swim and dive’s first SCIAC meet of the season, captain Sarah Radle (senior) placed first in the 100 freestyle, 200 freestyle and 200 individual medley. Although the women’s team lost to Caltech by a score of 129-161, Sarah said the team’s energy remains positive.
“No matter what race you’re swimming, someone will be behind drilling and cheering you on, especially at the big meets where it really matters,” Radle said.
In Fall 2023, Radle studied abroad in Prague and was unable to compete in the swim and dive season. Radle also said she suffered from an achilles injury while abroad.
“We had a bit of a rough patch last year when I was gone,” Radle said.
Women’s swim and dive coach Haley Meryl said that when several team members are studying abroad, the fall season can be more difficult competitively.
“It was nice when Sarah and the other folks abroad returned,” Meryl said.
Meryl said Radle is one of the most competitive swimmers on the team, a quality she believes is a crucial form of leadership.
Since coming back, Radle said that she and her co-captains Caroline Agostini (senior) and Candace Farling (senior) have worked to foster an inclusive environment and create a closer team dynamic.
Agostini said she admires Radle’s resilience as a leader and her ability to take on competition, which drives Radle to always show up and score points for the team.
“I think a lot of people see competitiveness as a con, but for her, it drives her and it motivates her not only to get out of bed in the morning, but to be the best version of herself,” Agostini said.
Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Radle said it does not matter to her exactly how she performs, as long as she puts forth her maximum effort.
“From this meet, my biggest takeaway and learning point is that I’m a lot more in shape than I thought I was,” Radle said. “It makes me very hopeful for the rest of the season.”
Joshua Lo
Occidental cross country runner Joshua Lo (senior) placed 42nd in the men’s SCIAC Championships 8K with a time of 27:08.01, averaging a pace of 5:21 per mile.
Lo said that although this course was more difficult than others due to its hills, he managed to run one of his fastest times of the season.
“A lot of my teammates went out pretty fast, so I just tried to stick with them at the beginning,” Lo said.
Lo said the team has gotten smaller this year but remains a tight-knit group of runners with a strong support system.
“There were a lot of people who came out to cheer. People from the track team came out, so having them there was super helpful,” Lo said.
According to teammate Jack Elfenbaum (sophomore), Lo promotes the team’s social dynamic, encouraging his teammates to engage in bonding activities outside of practice.
“He tries to get us all to do stuff together, which I think is something we need, and it helps make the team our team,” Elfenbaum said.
Elfenbaum said that Lo handles academic and athletic responsibilities in a similar way.
“He’s applying for graduate school, and he handles that really well,” Elfenbaum said. “He always knows what to do under pressure, and I think that translates to cross country.”
After four years of running at Occidental, Lo said he has integrated the routine of running into his daily life.
“I’ve started running more for sure. In freshman year, I was probably running 40 miles a week, and now I’m running close to 60 or 70,” Lo said.
Lo said there is one race left in the season, the West Region Championships, and his goal is to run a new personal record.
“I don’t think my goals have changed, but I’ll go there and try to have a good race and have fun since it is the last race of the season,” Lo said.
Contact Amelia Gehlhaus at gehlhaus@oxy.edu and Ellie von Brachel at vonbrachel@oxy.edu
