JACKSON, Miss. – The Millsaps men's and women's swimming and diving programs are looking to continue their growth as teams with the experience of 14 returners and two newcomers joining the squads, entering the 2024-25 season. 
 
Head coach Brian Ware enters his sixth season and looks to continue building the program in every positive aspect. The Majors already competed on Sept. 20 at the Magnolia Invitational as well as at Rhodes College on Sept. 21, posting quality times. 
 
At the 2024 SAA Swimming and Diving Championships last February, the Majors accumulated seven program records, while tallying 22 student-athletes in the events A or B finals. 
 
Junior Ben Anderson, still leading the pack, was a three-time SAA Men's Swimming Athlete of the Week a season. Anderson will also look to add and improve upon his All-SAA Second Team status. He swam the 100-yard freestyle in an impressive time of 46.12 seconds at the league meet. He also placed seventh in the 200-yard freestyle where he obtained a time of 1 minute, 44.97 second in the Championships. 
 
Anderson also holds the 800-yard freestyle record of 7:43.96 that was set alongside his returning classmates Jackson Van Meter and Andrew Meadows. Additionally, Anderson was ranked fourth amongst the SAA Conference in the 50-yard freestyle with a time in 20.91 seconds. The Estes Park, Colo., native was ranked sixth in the 200-yard freestyle of (1:43.84).

Meadows performed well to open the season by placing third in the 200-yard backstroke (2:23.79) at the Magnolia Invitational.
 
Expect junior Kaiden Auzenne along with Van Meter and Meadows to provide quality relay marks and excel in the short-distance events again this season. Auzenne, Meadows, Van Meter and Anderson also claimed the fourth spot in the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:35.26) at the same Magnolia Invitational to open the regular season.
 
Sophomore Peyton Jones had a solid performance at last season's league championships. The distance specialist set the program record in the 1650-yard freestyle (18:39.90).
 
On the women's side, senior Kat Burns will be leading the squad once again after recording her first collegiate SAA Women's Swimming Athlete of the Week last year.
 
Burns began her season with excellent times in the 100-yard breaststroke (third, 1:13.14), 50-yard free (fourth, 27.44) and 100-yard free (fourth, 59.47) at the Magnolia Invitational. Burns also owns six school records and was ranked third in the 100-yard breaststroke (1:05.08) and fifth in the 50-yard breaststroke (31.08) as a junior.
 
The 200-yard freestyle relay squad of junior Zoe Cowell, Burns, junior Abigail Hoffman and freshman Chloe Barnard grabbed fourth with a time of 1:54.14 to open the 2024-25 campaign. 
 
Senior Catherine Passarelli, another strong distance swimmer, accumulated a school-record-breaking time in the 800-freestyle relay (8:29.09) with returning senior Chloee Beebe and graduate Ginny Ray Clevenger at the 2024 SAA Swimming and Diving Championships. 
 
Clevenger was strong in the 200-yard backstroke (fourth, 2:32.63) and Cowell made a positive splash in the 200-yard breaststroke (third, 2:46.28) on Sept. 20. Passarelli also placed third in the 1000-yard freestyle (12:52.49) and fourth in the 500-yard free (6:21.88) in Cleveland, Miss. 

Hoffman was a standout last season as well. On Oct. 2,8 she would help the Majors take down Centenary in a dual meet, 119-117 where she was third in the 100-yard backstroke (1:13.53) and 200-yard backstroke (2:38.67).
 
Cowell, a swimming and diving dual threat, was ranked 11th in the conference in the 1M dive with six dives (152.17).
 
Freshman Samantha Himel also made a name for herself with a number of fourth-place showings at Rhodes College on Sept. 21, including the 50-meter backstroke (38.18), 50-meter butterfly (36.34) and 200-meter freestyle (2:36.45).
 
Millsaps will continue their regular season action against the University of Montevallo at the GRIT Training Facility in Flowood, Miss. on Oct. 12, before hosting Centenary College on Oct. 26. 
 
The program will travel back to Cleveland, Miss., for the Delta State Invitational in a three-day meet beginning on Nov. 22. The Majors will head to Shreveport, La., to challenge Centenary College to conclude the regular season on Jan. 17. 
 
Millsaps will then prepare for the 2025 SAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which is set for Feb. 12-15 at the Champions Hall in Danville, Ky.

2024-25 MILLSAPS MEN'S & WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING SCHEDULE
 

DATE	MEET	TIME
Friday, Sept. 20	at Magnolia Invitational (Delta State)	2 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21	at Rhodes	12 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 12	vs. Montevallo	1 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 26	vs. Centenary	1 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 22	at Delta State Invitational	TBA
Saturday, Nov. 23	at Delta State Invitational	TBA
Sunday, Nov. 24	at Delta State Invitational	TBA
Friday, Jan. 17	at Centenary	5 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 12	at SAA Championship	TBA
Thursday, Feb. 13	at SAA Championship	TBA
Friday, Feb. 14	at SAA Championship	TBA
Sunday, Feb. 15	at SAA Championship	TBA
March 19-22	at NCAA Championship	TBA

 
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps men's and women's swimming and diving programs follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com. 
 
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.