Feb. 24, 2011
Contact: Dan Carr
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Two Cleveland State records fell and several other Vikings entered the record books as the CSU women's swimming and diving team continued its participation in the 2011 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships on Thursday (Feb. 24).
Joanna Olsson and Gretchen Hestley led the Vikings in the 200 IM, finishing the event with the two best times in CSU history. Olsson broke her old school record of 2:04.86 by taking fourth in 2:03.94. Hestley took eighth with the second best mark in school history (2:05.81), besting Dana Labrie's time of 2:06.77 set in 1993.
The other school record to fall on the night came in the 400 medley relay. The team of Alexandra Johansson, Alice Sommerville, Olsson and Hestley placed fourth overall in the event with a time of 3:46.77, breaking the CSU record of 3:50.10 set last November.
Carys Behn got the night off to a great start for Cleveland State with a win in the 500 freestyle. Behn was in third place halfway through the race, with the reigning event champ Deanna Degrand of Green Bay and Melanie Waszak of UIC leading the way. Behn picked up her speed in the second half of the race, overtaking both Degrand and Waszak in the final lap to win the race in 4:53.89, touching in more than a second and a half faster than Waszak (4:55.24).
Behn's time ranks as the second fastest in school history, just behind Joanna Olsson's 4:53.56 mark set earlier this season.
"Carys is one of the real success stories of the meet," head coach Wally Morton said. "She had never won an individual event at the Horizon League Championships, and today she won the 500 free. She had a spectacular swim and is full of confidence right now."
CSU had two other swimmers score points in the 500 free. Nikki Kolis and Amanda Pallija both qualified for the consolation finals, with Kolis taking 11th (5:08.12) and Pallija placing 13th (5:08.18).
The Vikings also had an outstanding showing in the 50 freestyle, the only other event of the day. Sommerville placed second (23.07), Christine Kopacko took third (23.66) and Johansson finished in a tie for fourth with Milwaukee's Sarah Wardecke (23.71). Kopacko's time ties Behn's mark (recorded in 2009) for the second-best in program history while Johansson's finish is the third best in CSU history.
"[Our team] is swimming so fast and we've had so many great time drops, and we think they have their best swims ahead of them," Morton said.
After two days of competition, Cleveland State is in third place in the overall standings (249.5). The Vikings trail Green Bay, who leads with 321 points, and Milwaukee, in second with 273.5.
"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 or setting school records, but the whole team contributing in a meaningful way."
The 2011 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships continue Friday (Feb. 25) with the swimming preliminaries beginning at 10:00 a.m.
