26 TOWER | FALL 2023 Two student-athletes won individual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships during the 2022-23 season. Raechel Bonner '24 captured the conference crown in the indoor 400-meter dash on Feb. 26, while just a week earlier, Gracie McKee '23 earned gold in the 200-yard backstroke to give KU women's swimming its first event champion since 2010. It was the first championship for McKee and the second for Bonner, who won the 400-meter gold at the 2021 PSAC Track and Field Outdoor Championships. Bonner was KU’s first winner at the indoor track and field championships since Meghan Forsythe '20 and Ally Tama '22 back in 2020. She is a five-time All-PSAC performer and ranks in the top-10 in the program history books in the indoor 400- and 500-meter, and the 4x400-meter relay, as well as the outdoor 4x100-meter relay. “The first time I won was my freshman year and I was extremely excited and proud of my accomplishment, but I think winning this year was more rewarding to me,” Bonner said. “Yes, I didn’t win with a time I wanted but I ran a race that I will always remember, a race that in a sense reminded me why I run in the first place. Being an athlete at a collegiate level can take a huge toll on you physically and mentally but I would never give it up for anything. It’s my oxygen.” McKee capped an outstanding week in York, Pa., with her third medal of the meet and fifth in two career PSAC Swimming Championships with KU, winning a bronze in the 100-yard butterfly and silver in the 100-yard backstroke. She is the program record holder in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, along with the 100-yard butterfly. “Being a student-athlete at KU has meant the world to me,” McKee said. “I got another chance at pursuing my dreams here, and I was never told that I couldn’t achieve anything. Coach Flannery and I have a unique relationship that I am so thankful for. I think if we didn’t, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Kutztown has given me the opportunity to use my voice and be a leader on my team and on campus.” The good news for KU and for women’s swimming head coach Tim Flannery and track and field head coach Ray Hoffman is that the duo have returned to their respective programs this academic year. SPORTS ROUNDUP BY C.J. HEMERLY STUDENT ATHLETES WIN GOLD during the 2022–2023 athletic season
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