ROLLA, Mo. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference is continuing its series of segments with student-athletes within the conference with its "Someone to Listen" program, with today's segment featuring Missouri S&T swimming Aaron Taske (Fairfield, OH/Saint Xavier).

Taske, a mechanical engineering major at Missouri S&T, was one of nine Miners who were in Geneva, Ohio on March 12 at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships when the national organization made the announcement to cancel all of the remaining winter and spring championship events due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The Miners had competed in the morning preliminary session that day, but the meet was halted moments before the team returned to the facility later that day for the events scheduled that evening.

Taske had competed in the 1,000-yard freestyle on the opening day of the national meet and was slated to compete on the second night in the 200-yard freestyle relay, as well as on each of the last two days of the competition.

In the feature, Taske talks about his thoughts at the moment he and his teammates learned the meet was canceled and trying to process that abrupt end in the days that followed, while contemplating the big picture in looking ahead.

During the 2019-20 season, Taske entered the national meet having posted the eighth-fastest time of the year in the 1,000-yard freestyle and ninth-fastest in the 200-yard butterfly.  He was on the Miners' 200-yard medley relay team that finished second at the 2020 GLVC Championships, while also finishing third in the 200-butterfly and eighth in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the same meet in February.

To see the feature on Aaron, click on the accompanying link.