Feb. 24, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Brown Deer, Wis. - Strong performances from the Cleveland State men's swimming and diving team on Friday (Feb. 24) have the Vikings sticking in the top-three after three days of the 2012 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships.
Heading into the final day of competition, the Vikings are just three points behind UIC for second place. Milwaukee leads the charge with 653 points and while (505.5) and CSU (502.5) are hot in pursuit. Wright State is fourth with 321 points and Green Bay with 316 are ahead of sixth place Valparaiso. The Crusaders round out the field with 121 points.
"We finished third last year and we have a really good chance to finish better than this this year," head coach Wally Morton said. "When we look at we have on the schedule tomorrow, we feel good about where we are at. We have some swimmers who should be in good shape and ready to go. We really think we have a good day ahead of us and we're happy with how our depth swimmers are helping the cause."
Justin Kermack won the first event of the night, the 400 IM. He touched in 3:54.53, a time that was more than six seconds better than his top time of 4:00.15. Ryan Blankenship (4:05.04) and Alex Cohara (4:05.31) took first and third, respectively, in the consolation final to combine for 15 team points. Those were their best times of the season.
In the next race, the 100 fly, runner-up Alex Lewis and third-place finisher Berry Thompson both turned in their best times of the season. Lewis was clocked at 48.80 and Thompson was just behind him with a 48.91.
Rookie Nathan Grant was fourth in the 100 breast with a career-best time of 56.54 and Brian Ferro was two spots behind him with a 56.73, a time more than two seconds better than his previous best time of the season.
Alasdair Shillito placed third in the 100 back with a 50.25 and was narrowly edged out by Eric Ahlden of Wright State and his 49.51 and Sam Niesen of Milwaukee who had a time of 50.15. Justin Hill placed ninth with a 51.63 to add nine team points and Colin Hanner chipped in three points with a time of 53.08.
No Viking qualified for the 3-meter diving final and the team finished with a time of 6:44.97 in the 800 free relay. Grant, Graham Thoresen, Thompson and Kermack covered the distance in 6:44.97, a time that was an improvement over the 6:52.43 that CSU swam back in late November at the TYR Invitational.
Swimming trials begin tomorrow at 11:30 a.m. EST with the 1,650 free. Other events scheduled for Saturday (Feb. 25) include the 200 back, 100 free, 200 breast, 200 fly and the 400 free relay.
Video of the finals - which are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. EST - can be streamed live on the Horizon League Network via www.HorizonLeague.org.
