Pirates Extend Lead Heading Into Final Day of SCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship

Pirates Extend Lead Heading Into Final Day of SCAC Men's Swimming & Diving Championship

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – The Southwestern University men earned two individual golds and another relay victory – the squad’s third relay win of the meet – to extend its lead to 57 points over second-place Trinity heading into the final day of the 2019 SCAC Swimming and Diving Championships. Official Website | Friday's Complete Results | Photo Gallery

The Pirates picked up victories from Peter Robinson in the 200 free and Alek Argueta in the 100 breast and then closed the night with a victory in the 400 medley relay to set the table for a potentially huge Saturday evening as the program is seeking its first-ever SCAC men’s swimming title.

Robinson earned his second consecutive win in the 200 free, touching first this year in a time of 1:40.67. Trinity’s Daniel Sarman was second in a time of 1:41.13 and Colorado College’s Walker Martin earned All-SCAC honors with a third-place finish in a time of 1:42.35.

Argueta kept the momentum flowing for the Pirates in the next race, hitting the wall in a winning time of 56.97. The sophomore out-touched two-time defending champion Elliott Fleming of Trinity who placed second in a time of 57.31. Fleming’s teammate, Colton Smith, finished third in 58.06.

In the final event of the evening, the Southwestern team of Carl-Ake Willberg, Argueta, Keith Gill and Robinson just missed out on a SCAC record time in the 400 medley relay, coming home in 3:23.93 – the second-fastest time in meet history. The same foursome was on Wednesday night’s winning 200 medley relay team, and Gill and Robinson have swam on all three victorious squads. Trinity placed second in the 400 medley relay with a time of 3:25.19 and Centenary College finished third in 3:30.00.

The divers began competing on Friday and Trinity swept the top three slots on the 1-meter board. The Tigers’ Duncan MacAskill earned his third gold in four years, taking top honors with a score of 510.60 – the fourth-highest in SCAC history. Teammates Anthony Liva and Daniel Valmassei – last year’s champion in the event – finished second and third, respectively, with scores of 496.65 and 486.25.

Trinity’s Jacob Hurrell-Zitelman earned his third consecutive win in the 400 IM, becoming just the third swimmer in league history to win the even three consecutive years. The junior touched first in a time of 4:06.93. His teammate, Noah Stopkotte, finished second in 4:08.54 and Colorado College’s Cole Thumann placed third in a time of 4:09.25.

Eric Dallesasse of Colorado College became the first man to win a second individual title in this year’s meet, backing up Thursday night’s victory in the 200 IM with a win in the 100 fly. The junior is the first man in SCAC history to win those two races in one championship. Additionally, his victory marks the second consecutive year he has won the event and his time of 49.55 is the second-fastest in the history of the event. Gill of Southwestern finished second with a time of 50.54 and Beau Tipton of Trinity placed third in 50.55.

In the last individual event of the evening, Austin College’s Chris Brown made history of his own, earning a first-place finish in the 100 back in a time of 50.35. In addition to being the fifth-fastest time in SCAC championship history, the individual win marked the first gold medal performance for an Austin College male since joining the conference in 2007. Miguel Vasquez of Centenary placed second in a time of 50.66 and Willberg of Southwestern was third in a time of 52.16.

The team standings heading into tomorrow’s final day are as follows:

1) Southwestern University – 579
2) Trinity University – 522
3) Colorado College – 451
4) Centenary College – 308
5) Austin College – 223
6) University of the Ozarks – 163
7) McMurry University – 159

Competition concludes on Saturday with preliminaries beginning at 10:30 a.m. The league’s annual senior night recognition ceremony kicks off the evening session at 5:45 p.m., with finals scheduled to begin shortly afterwards. Click here for the complete schedule of events