Feb. 23, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Brown Deer, Wis. - Five individuals placing in the top-eight and a victory in the 400 medley relay helped Cleveland State remain in the top-three after two days at the Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships.
Only host Milwaukee (341) and UIC (289.5) are ahead of the Vikings who finished the day with 286.5 points. Wright State (179) is directly behind CSU with Green Bay (127) and Valparaiso (86) rounding out the field.
Cleveland State's best race of the evening - at least in terms of individuals - was the 50 free. Wright State standout Hermanus Botha won the event with a time of 20.14, but Vikings Berry Thompson (20.24) and Justin Hill (20.38) finished right behind him to combine for 33 team points. Alex Lewis placed sixth with a 20.53 to chip in 11 additional points.
That came after CSU placed both Graham Thoresen and Jon Querciagrossa in the 500 free. Thoresen was clocked at 4:32.56 - his best time of the season - which was good for fifth place, two spots ahead of Querciagrossa who swam a career-best 4:34.57 at his first league meet.
No Viking qualified for the 200 IM finals, although Justin Kermack, Nathan Grant and Brian Ferro went one-two-three in the consolation final to salvage a combined 22 team points. Kermack's 1:50.76 would have been good for third place had he qualified after the prelims. Grant was clocked at 1:51.89 and Ferro touched in 1:52.97. Those times were new season-highs for all three Viking swimmers.
The night ended on a high note with CSU's quartet of Alasdair Shillito, Grant, Kermack and Thompson winning the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:18.24. Thompson was the anchor and swam a 43.11 split to make up the gap after trailing by over a body length when he started.
Swimming trials begin tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. EST with the 400 yard IM. Other events scheduled for Friday (Feb. 24) include the 100 fly, 200 free, 100 breast, 100 back, 1-meter diving and the 800 free relay.
Video of the finals - which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST - can be streamed live each day on the Horizon League Network via www.HorizonLeague.org.
