Jan. 6, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Fort Lauderdale, Fla. - The Cleveland State men's swimming and diving team kicked off 2012 on a strong note, besting the other 12 teams in the field to win the Bob Mowerson Sprint Meet held on Friday (Jan. 6). The meet, sponsored by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America, was held at the International Swimming Hall of Fame's outdoor pool on a long course.
The Vikings won the meet with a score of 209.5, edging out Tufts who finished with 203. Binghamton placed third with 174.5 while Clarion (167), Bloomsburg (139) and Dickinson (89) rounded out the top-six.
"We had a really good training trip," head coach Wally Morton said. "I was really pleased with the effort that we put into this and the meet was really just for fun. We really enjoyed the meet and the weather was terrific. It was nice to compete against other schools at the Hall of Fame facility."
Graham Thoresen won the 400 meter free with a time of 4:21.35 with teammates Alex Cohara (4:25.18) and Pieter Ritz (4:25.50) placing second and third, respectively.
Berry Thompson won the 100 meter free with a 53.89 while Alex Lewis was just behind him with a 55.99.
The Vikings had another one-two-three sweep in the 200 meter IM as Justin Kermack, fresh off his performance at the AT&T Winter National Championships, won the event with a 2:15.35. Brian Ferro was next in 2:15.67, and Nathan Grant rounded out the trio with a 2:22.00.
Brad Bielak and Travis Lombardozzi were third and fifth, respectively, in the 50 meter fly. Bielak was clocked at 28.07 while Lombardozzi touched in 28.40.
Colin Hanner was second in the 50 back with his time of 30.16 while Ryan Blankenship touched in 31.71.
Pedrom Kheirandish added a top-three finish in the 50 breast when he placed third after turning in a 33.45.
Justin Hill won the final event of the meet, the 50 meter free, in 25.00. Freshman Jon Querciagrossa was sixth with a 27.01.
"Our kids are really tired and have worked so hard, so I thought the times we swam were really good considering the circumstances," Morton said.
The Vikings will be in action next Saturday (Jan. 14) at 2:00 p.m. when they take on Xavier and Oakland at the OU Aquatic Center in Rochester, Mich.
