Feb. 24, 2011
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Contact: Dan Carr
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mark de Swardt won the 500 free in 4:24.95, the second best time ever by a Viking, and Cleveland State's men's swimming and diving team finished the second day of the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships in second place on Thursday (Feb. 24).
It marked the eighth career Horizon League Championship win for de Swardt, who has never lost an event at the conference tournament. The 4:24.95 time was a personal best for the junior and is just .30 shy of the school record (4:24.65), set by Bjorn Schantz in 2006.
"Without a doubt, Mark de Swardt is one of the greatest swimmers in the history of the Horizon League, by any definition," head coach Wally Morton said. "What's really exciting about him is that he is showing a lot of speed and he's holding up throughout the race."
The Vikings had four swimmers score points in the 500 free, with Graham Thoresen also swimming well in a fourth place finish (4:31.98). Pieter Ritz placed 13th (4:40.73) while Mike Mulvin finished just behind Ritz at 14th (4:41.56).
The 500 freestyle was just one of five events on the day at the championships. The Vikings also swam in the 50 free, 200 IM and 400 medley relay, and the divers competed in the 1-meter event.
Three CSU swimmers qualified for the finals in the 50 free, with Justin Hill leading the team by tying for fourth with a time of 20.52. Berry Thompson placed sixth in 20.55 while Alex Lewis took eighth in 20.78.
Mike Marsico also scored points for Cleveland State. The senior won the consolation final in 20.88 to finish ninth overall in the event.
Justin Kermack had the team's top time in the 200 IM, as the freshman came in sixth in 1:51.97. Brian Ferro finished just behind him in seventh (1:52.31) while Deni Gasparin took 11th in 1:53.09.
The 400 medley relay team of Alasdair Shillito, Gasparin, Lewis and Thompson came in third at 3:18.55.
The Vikings had three divers score points in the 1-meter event. Freshman James Metzger, competing in just his first official meet as a Viking, qualified for the consolation finals and took 14th with a score of 150.40. Matt DiMasso also made the consolation finals, finishing in 11th place (246.40).
Josh Gonzalez rebounded from a tough outing in the preliminaries to place fifth overall (272.80). After barely making the cut with the eighth-best score in the preliminaries (249.45), Gonzalez scored more than 20 points better in the finals to finish the day on a high note.
Cleveland State currently sits in second place in the standings, having accumulated 297.5 points over the tournament's first two days. The team is 10.5 points behind UIC (308) and is 10 points ahead of Milwaukee (287.5). Wright State (194), Green Bay (176) and Valparaiso (53) round out the competition.
"We like where we're at right now," Morton said. "We're swimming with great confidence and we've had a number of people step and contribute in a real meaningful way. This is what a championship is all about; not just the people who are winning the events, but the whole team contributing in a meaningful way."
The Horizon League Championships will continue with six event on Friday (Feb. 25), with the swimming preliminaries beginning at 10:00 a.m.
