Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles” is a popular tune made famous by Terry Crews’ cover in White Chicks, but the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Swim & Dive team assembled lip syncs domestic and abroad for their own unique rendition for an athletic department-wide competition.
The lip sync starts off in the Panthers’ pool, but with each new line sung by a different athlete, the viewer is transported across state lines and international borders. With clips from Las Vegas, Mexico, Bahamas, New York City, Virgin Islands, Daytona Beach, and Chicago, the video represents a visual journey of a thousand, possibly, thousands of miles.
The UWM team finished out the regular season with the women’s team taking their third-straight runner-up Horizon League Championship title. Senior Rachel Margis swept the 1-meter and 3-meter events to earn the Diver of the Meet award and her coach Todd Hill was named Diving Coach of the Year by the Horizon League in turn. Sara Bentley, creator of the lip sync video, collected the 100 back title at the Horizon League Championships and also set a school record in the event during the prelims session. Mandie Siehs also earned the Panthers their first league title of the meet when she claimed the 50 free. In their final showing of the season, Margis and Carley Thomas earned chances to compete together at the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships hosted by Texas A&M.
On the men’s side, twins Nic and Tim Halverson both swam under the 500 free school record at the Horizon League Championships. Nic got the better of his brother by half a second to take the school record and the pair wound up taking second and third place finishes in finals. When it came to the 1650 free, Tim would be the twin to take it all, but still they raced for a 1-2 Panther finish.