Texas A&M Women’s Swimming & Diving Hosts Annual Team Banquet
Apr 26, 2024 | Women's Swimming and Diving
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – The Texas A&M women's swimming & diving team recently celebrated its 2023-24 season at the annual team banquet. After announcing team awards, seniors reflected on their time at A&M before honoring longtime head coach Steve Bultman.
For the fourth consecutive season, Chloe Stepanek was named Swimming MVP following another successful year in the pool and the classroom. Stepanek earned a pair of bronze medals at SEC Championships, picking up the fourth of her career in the 200 free while also helping the 400 medley relay reach the podium. The Northport, New York, native added points for the Aggies with a fifth-place finish in the 50 free and a fourth-place finish in the 100 free. Stepanek, the two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and CSC First Team Academic All-American, upped her All-America accolade count to 13 by season's end with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free and 15th-place time in the 100 free, while also helping the 800 free relay and 400 medley relay register top-16 times at NCAAs.
This season Stepanek shared Swimming MVP honors with newcomer Miranda Grana, who brought home four bronze medals from SEC Championships and added a pair of top-eight individual finishes at NCAA Championships. The Guadalajara, Mexico, native started the SEC meet with a bronze-medal finish in the 100 fly, clocking the fourth-fastest time in program history, 51.32. The next day she took down the school record in the 100 back with a time of 50.65 to place third in the event and later helped the 400 medley relay team post the third-fastest time in school history (3:28.61). She closed out the week with a third-place finish in the 200 back going 1:51.06 to clock the second-fastest time in school history. She went on to register top-eight finishes in both backstroke events at NCAA Championships, while helping the 400 medley relay to a 10th-place finish.
For the second time in as many years, Joslyn Oakley was named Diving MVP at the team banquet after becoming an SEC Champion and earning a pair of top-10 scores at NCAA Championships. Oakley claimed a league title on the 1-meter with a score of 325.65 in just her second career finals appearance at SEC Championships. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native went on to start the NCAA meet with a fourth-place finish on the 1-meter with a score of 311.60 and later placed ninth on the 3-meter with a score of 317.30 to become a four-time All-American.
Abigail Ahrens earned Most Improved Swimmer honors and Mayson Richards was named Most Improved Diver after both Aggies closed out the season making their debuts at NCAA Championships. Ahrens competed at NCAAs in the 100 back, 200 back and 200 IM after registering career-best times at SEC Championships. The Kingwood, Texas, native advanced to the finals in all three of her individual events at SECs, finishing as high as 11th in the 400 IM as she clocked new personal bests in the 100 back (52.98), 200 back (1:53.73) and 400 IM (4:13.66). Richards competed at NCAAs on the 3-meter after posting top-10 scores on both springboards at SEC Championships. The Keller, Texas, native advanced to her first final at SECs, eventually placing seventh on the 3-meter and went on to finish 10th on the 1-meter.
On the season, the Aggies posted an impressive 10-1 dual meet season record, taking down three ranked opponents. They returned to the top three at SEC Championships for the first time since 2019 and brought home 11 medals. Texas A&M went on to finish 14th at NCAA Championships, racking up 18 All-America accolades through the week. The 14th-place team finish marked the 17th time Coach Bultman has led the Aggies to a top-15 performance in his 25 years at the helm.
Complete list of 2023-24 awards:
Swimming MVP – Chloe Stepanek, Miranda Grana
Most Improved Swimmer – Abigail Ahrens
Diving MVP – Joslyn Oakley
Most Improved Diver – Mayson Richards
Iron Woman Sports Performance Award – Desirae Mangaoang
Academic Momentum Award – Sarah Holt
Aggie Heart Award in Memory of Bob Stallings – Abby Grottle
Jody Tanner – Hansen Optimist Award – Blakely Schuricht
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's swimming & diving. Fans can keep up to date with the Aggies Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter/X by following @AggieSwimDive.
For the fourth consecutive season, Chloe Stepanek was named Swimming MVP following another successful year in the pool and the classroom. Stepanek earned a pair of bronze medals at SEC Championships, picking up the fourth of her career in the 200 free while also helping the 400 medley relay reach the podium. The Northport, New York, native added points for the Aggies with a fifth-place finish in the 50 free and a fourth-place finish in the 100 free. Stepanek, the two-time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and CSC First Team Academic All-American, upped her All-America accolade count to 13 by season's end with a fifth-place finish in the 200 free and 15th-place time in the 100 free, while also helping the 800 free relay and 400 medley relay register top-16 times at NCAAs.
This season Stepanek shared Swimming MVP honors with newcomer Miranda Grana, who brought home four bronze medals from SEC Championships and added a pair of top-eight individual finishes at NCAA Championships. The Guadalajara, Mexico, native started the SEC meet with a bronze-medal finish in the 100 fly, clocking the fourth-fastest time in program history, 51.32. The next day she took down the school record in the 100 back with a time of 50.65 to place third in the event and later helped the 400 medley relay team post the third-fastest time in school history (3:28.61). She closed out the week with a third-place finish in the 200 back going 1:51.06 to clock the second-fastest time in school history. She went on to register top-eight finishes in both backstroke events at NCAA Championships, while helping the 400 medley relay to a 10th-place finish.
For the second time in as many years, Joslyn Oakley was named Diving MVP at the team banquet after becoming an SEC Champion and earning a pair of top-10 scores at NCAA Championships. Oakley claimed a league title on the 1-meter with a score of 325.65 in just her second career finals appearance at SEC Championships. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native went on to start the NCAA meet with a fourth-place finish on the 1-meter with a score of 311.60 and later placed ninth on the 3-meter with a score of 317.30 to become a four-time All-American.
Abigail Ahrens earned Most Improved Swimmer honors and Mayson Richards was named Most Improved Diver after both Aggies closed out the season making their debuts at NCAA Championships. Ahrens competed at NCAAs in the 100 back, 200 back and 200 IM after registering career-best times at SEC Championships. The Kingwood, Texas, native advanced to the finals in all three of her individual events at SECs, finishing as high as 11th in the 400 IM as she clocked new personal bests in the 100 back (52.98), 200 back (1:53.73) and 400 IM (4:13.66). Richards competed at NCAAs on the 3-meter after posting top-10 scores on both springboards at SEC Championships. The Keller, Texas, native advanced to her first final at SECs, eventually placing seventh on the 3-meter and went on to finish 10th on the 1-meter.
On the season, the Aggies posted an impressive 10-1 dual meet season record, taking down three ranked opponents. They returned to the top three at SEC Championships for the first time since 2019 and brought home 11 medals. Texas A&M went on to finish 14th at NCAA Championships, racking up 18 All-America accolades through the week. The 14th-place team finish marked the 17th time Coach Bultman has led the Aggies to a top-15 performance in his 25 years at the helm.
Complete list of 2023-24 awards:
Swimming MVP – Chloe Stepanek, Miranda Grana
Most Improved Swimmer – Abigail Ahrens
Diving MVP – Joslyn Oakley
Most Improved Diver – Mayson Richards
Iron Woman Sports Performance Award – Desirae Mangaoang
Academic Momentum Award – Sarah Holt
Aggie Heart Award in Memory of Bob Stallings – Abby Grottle
Jody Tanner – Hansen Optimist Award – Blakely Schuricht
Visit 12thman.com for more information on Texas A&M women's swimming & diving. Fans can keep up to date with the Aggies Facebook, Instagram, and on Twitter/X by following @AggieSwimDive.
Players Mentioned
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Free
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