By Sarah Turner, Sports editor 

The beginning of February felt routine for Montevallo’s swimming program. Conference championship preparations were underway. Athletes showed up to practice every day, focused and locked in. Some were even eyeing potential NCAA championship bids. 

Then the unthinkable happened. 

On Feb. 12, Montevallo swimming athletes, along with members of the tennis program, were informed that their teams were under consideration to be eliminated as part of university cost-saving measures. 

The news blindsided them. None of the athletes had known the decision was being considered, making the timing especially devastating, just days before the most important meet of the season. 

Before that moment, the men’s swim team had clear, ambitious goals. 

“Last year we got second on the men’s side,” said senior captain Jimmy Franck. “We had a lot of good recruits coming into the year, so our immediate goal was to win the conference.” 

The 2024-25 season marked a major shift for the program, as Montevallo moved from the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference to Conference Carolinas, offering stronger competition and higher stakes. Both the men’s and women’s teams were picked to finish third in the preseason poll, with the championship meet scheduled for Feb. 18-21 in Kingsport, Tennessee. 

But after learning their program might not exist next year, how were they supposed to compete at their best? 

“We kind of used it as a way to motivate ourselves,” said Franck. “If we did well at this competition maybe the board or the athletic department could see that we’re worth keeping.” 

The Falcons opened the meet strong, but not without adversity. 

In the very first relay event, the 200-yard medley relay, the quartet of Denis Popov, Xoel Parcero Areoso, Aleksei Kolesnikov and Franck touched the wall first. Moments later, they learned they had been disqualified for a false start. 

What could have crushed their momentum instead fueled it. 

Later that same day, Alex Kim, Edu Elizaran Galan, Popov and Franck rebounded by winning the 800-yard freestyle relay – this time for real. 

“After the first full day, we knew we had a very good shot,” Aleksei Kolesnikov, another senior captain, said. “Like we are here for the win.” 

Relays proved crucial to Montevallo’s success throughout the meet. The Falcons also claimed the 400-yard medley relay title, with Popov, Parcero Areoso, Kim and Kolesnikov dominating the field. For Kolesnikov, it was one of the most emotional moments of the meet. 

“We crushed it, we won by a lot,” Kolesnikov said. “Nobody expected that. There were a lot of emotions.” 

Heading into the final day, the men’s team sat in first place, knowing they would need everything they had left to finish the job. 

Both Franck and Kolesnikov said the uncertainty surrounding the program wasn’t weighing on them during the meet. They were swimming for each other. 

When the final race ended and the results were posted, the realization set in: the men had won the conference championship, and the women had finished second. It marked the first conference title in the seven-year history of Montevallo’s swim program. 

“We’ve obviously never won before, so this was a huge moment,” Kolesnikov said. 

Head coach Lori Riegler was named the Conference Carolinas Men’s Swimming and Diving Coach of the Year, and was promptly thrown in the pool by her athletes.  

“Lori is very important to us,” said Franck. “Not just as a coach, but she’s there for us as a person. We kind of wanted to make her the focal point of our celebrations.” 

For Franck and Kolesnikov, the championship meant more than medals or podium finishes. It was a statement. 

“We had a very good shot last year but we came second, and this year we finished what we started,” Kolesnikov said. “For the program, of course it’s a very good achievement overall, especially with all of this bad news which happened right before the meet.” 

“The outcome of the actual conference shows that we probably are a team who is worth it to be kept,” Kolesnikov added. 

And if this truly was the final chapter for Montevallo swimming, the Falcons made sure it ended the only way they knew how – together, all in, as champions.