Dion Dreesens and Patricia Castro-Ortega were announced as the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmers of the Year after securing a string of accolades throughout their year’s performance including Swimmer of the Meet for the conference championships in February. Dreesens was recognized as the Co-Swimmer of the Year along with Joel Ax from Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD) while Castro-Ortega earned the honor for the second year in a row.
Castro-Ortega’s performance at the conference meet landed six national records and one additional first place finish. With momentum built, she swam a similar performance on the national stage with four NCAA records coming off individual events in the 200 yard individual medley, 400 yard individual medley, 500 yard freestyle, and the 100 yard freestyle. Additionally she claimed two first place finishes with two separate relay teams, 800 freestyle relay and the 400 freestyle relay, to finish the year as a six-time national champion.
Castro-Ortega was also the women’s swimming winner for the Honda Women’s Athlete of the Year Award and will compete for the overall award to be announced later this summer.
Dreesens tabbed the award in his first year competition within the conference. He landed six first-place finish at the conference championship in February with the 400 freestyle relay team claiming a national record. On the national stage, Dreesens placed first in four different events to claim the national title. His 500 yard freestyle swim would break the national record in addition to him claiming a record with the men’s 800 yard freestyle relay team. At the conclusion of the meet, he would claim the Swimmer of the Meet award for the NCAA championship site.
Dreesens shares the conference honor with SCAD’s Ax who earned his third straight 500 yard freestyle national title and helped set an NAIA national record with a 4:21.49 in the prelims. At conference, he finished in the top heat of competition in six swims. Helping to lead his team, Ax never placed below sixth place throughout the entirety of the meet.
Both Castro-Ortega and Dreesens were named Male and Female InterCon Student-Athletes of the Month. They are currently preparing for the European championships to be held mid-May before heading to the Olympics to compete for their respective countries.
