KNOXVILLE, Tenn.- The eight talented Cleveland State swimmers competed on day one at the 2013 AT&T U.S. Winter National Championships all day on Thursday.
On day one at the U.S. Nationals, it was a record breaking day for Alex Lewis. He set an individual school record of an incredible fast time of 19.99 in 4x50 Free Relay. Behind Lewis, Al Shillito, Nathan Grant, and Adam Ingledew all led the Vikings in the 4x50 Free Relay with a team time of 1:21.96. Besides the 4x 50 Free Relay, CSU's men also swam in the 4x 100 Medley Relay with a wall touch time of 3:19.71.
Head Coach Wally Morton spoke about Lewis' record 4x 50 Free Relay time. "I'm very proud of Alex Lewis' 19.99 school record time accomplishment. To do it on a big stage is an honor for our program," said an ecstatic Morton.
"We have had some great sprinters in our program, but the twenty second barrier has been our goal and Alex Lewis has done that leading off with a 19.99 50 Free time. I am so proud of Lewis because he gets faster and faster. His dedication, swimming intelligence, and fantastic positive attitude, is an example of how to take advantage of his opportunities in his collegiate swimming career,'' concluded Morton on Lewis' individual record time.
On the opening day of competition for the Vikings, it is the second straight year the team has opened the U.S. Winter National Championships with two relay teams making the finals on the first night of competition.
Other CSU swimmers that had a good performances on day one were Gage Alleman, Nathan Grant, and Justin Kermack who swam in the 200 IM prelims. Alleman's time was 1:52.76, Grant's finish time was 1:51.08, and Kermack finished with a time of 1:52.38.
Morton was pleased on how Kermack, Grant, and Alleman swam in the 200 IM. "I was pleased with Gage Alleman's time in the 200 IM. Justin Kermack and Nathan Grant had impressive swims as well," said Morton.
On the women's side, Alex Johansson swam well on Thursday. She competed in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 23.97. "I was very pleased with Alex Johansson's performance. Just the fact of being at U.S. Nationals is amazing for her, especially from coming off of her shoulder surgery."
After day one the Vikings are in 17th place at U.S. Nationals. The Vikings will return to the pool tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. who will compete in preliminaries, followed by the finals beginning at 5:00 p.m.
