Sara Kraus stood on the podium and beamed.
It wasn’t just her final race – it was her best race.
It wasn’t just a good moment for the team – it was a great one.
It was the culmination of what Kraus brought to the Hope College swim team.
The top 10 finish for the first time in 23 years can all be traced back to the day Kraus decided to come to Hope College.
The culture changed as top swimmers saw what Kraus was able to do. The three-time MIAA Most Outstanding Swimmer was an All-American every year and built the first foundation of the Hope program under coach Jake Taber.
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“She’s been a staple of this national team. She’s become a household name among backstrokers across the country,” Taber said. “For her best individual finish at the NCAA Championships to be her last race, we’re so happy for her to go out that way.”
Kraus, from Rockford, came in under mentors Emma Schaefer and Delaney Wesolek and helped add top-level speed to the culture, which has taken off.
Michigan transfer Greta Gidley joined Hope two years ago and has been an All-American every year, and now Laurel Wasiniak, Bella Turner, Lauren Ryle, Katie Hermann and Emme D’Errico have joined that group this year.
“It was definitely awesome to see how far we have come. The energy was definitely different than in years past. The chemistry with our team was really great and I could tell the week was going to be really special,’ Kraus said. “That very first day, we had a strong start with the 400 medley relay making the A final and it just set the tone for the rest of the week.
“My freshman year, we made it back in one relay and we B finaled, and that was a big deal. To see how much we have grown in four years is amazing. It was amazing to see how many different finals we made.”
Hope made three A finals in relays and two B finals, scoring in all five relays.
In addition Kraus, Gidley and Wasiniak scored in multiple individual events and Hope finished ninth at the NCAA Division III Championships, its highest finish in 23 years.
Recruiting Kraus starts new era
When Taber took over for Hall of Fame coach John Patnott, he not only had huge shoes to fill, but needed a top-level recruit to get his vision for the program started.
He found this tall and talented backstroker from Rockford that had her choice of most Division I schools after her stellar high school career.
“It was mostly the team and the people here, the camaraderie that I saw here,” Kraus said. “We had similar program goals and it was everything I hoped for.”
Kraus won the MIAA Most Outstanding Swimmer three times and led Hope to the MIAA title all four years.
At NCAAs, it was a B final relay as a freshman, then individual qualifying, then individual placing then A final relays that have transformed Hope into a top 10 program step by step.
“When you are going through the recruiting process, you have to find the best place for you. I got a lot of questions when I decided to come here because I could have gone to a bigger school, but ultimately it was the decision that was best for me – and it was the best decision I have ever made. The reason why people do so well here is, sure we have great coaches and athletes, but people are really happy coming here and being a part of this supportive culture.”
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Hope’s relay rise
The very first night of the NCAA Championships, Kraus was part of a first-team All-American relay. It was the first time Hope has earned first-team honors in the top eight in more than two decades.
The Flying Dutch had earned several second-team honors in the B final over the years, including the past two, but this was different.
“Every year that I have been here, we have been seeded to reach an A final in at least one relay, but every year we were like, ‘This is the year.’ But it is really hard to drop time at this meet and it never went our way. We had some B finals, which was awesome, but not like this. We knew it was going to be tight to make it to the A final, but we were just thrilled. To start the meet off on such a positive note was such a momentum builder for us.”
Kraus, Gidley, Ryle and Wasiniak finished eighth in the 400 medley relay (3:44.44) to earn All-American honors, the first top-eight finish in the event for Hope in 25 years.
Gidley teamed with Lauren Ryle, Bella Turner and Lauren Wasiniak to finish sixth in the 200 freestyle relay (1:31.99). Gidley, Ryle, Turner and Wasiniak finished seventh in the 400 free relay (3:22.43). Kraus, Ryle, Gidley and Wasiniak took 10th in the 200 medley relay (1:41.60). Gidley, Wasiniak, Emme D’Errico and Turner took 12th in the 800 free relay (7:28.33).
“It was so exciting to watch the sprint relay. They worked so well together and I was so excited to watch. It is so quick it was to nerve-wracking to watch,” Kraus said.
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Going out on the podium
Kraus had some great swims on relays in the first few days of the meet but a couple of disappinting swims in individual events.
It all came down to the final night where she swam her best event, the 200-yard backstroke.
For the final individual event of Kraus’ career, she finished fourth in the nation in the 200 backstroke (1:59.22) to earn first-team All-American honors.
“I was super locked in for the 200 back. It was my last event, and I wanted to have a great swim in my last swim. I was thrilled,” Kraus said. “I thought I was going to be more emotional, but it was hard to be sad when it went so well. It was super special, and it couldn’t have ended any better. There is so much work that goes in behind the scenes for years. It is so much, and it has consumed so much of my life the past 14 years. It was so nice to be able to finish off in that way.”
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The Kraus legacy
So the Hope swim program will move into the post-Kraus era, and is headed in the best direction possible.
Nearly all the All-Americans from this year will be back and there were some very close to making NCAAs that have another shot next year.
Plus there is the lasting impression of Kraus thriving at Hope that has drawn recruits like West Ottawa’s Mackenzie Baldwin, who win the Division 1 high school state title in the 100 backstroke in the fall.
“I think they are in such a great position both in our conference and nationally. We have so much talent and girls willing to put in the work,” Kraus said. “When I came it, it was super exciting and now I can leave knowing they are still going to do great things in the future.”
Contact sports editor Dan D’Addona at Dan.D’Addona@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter @DanDAddona or Facebook @HollandSentinelSports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: How Sara Kraus became the foundation of greatness for Hope College swimming rise
Reporting by Dan D’Addona, Holland Sentinel / The Holland Sentinel
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