SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- The Trinity University men swept the top three positions in the 200 free and won the 400 medley relay and now hold a 65.5 point lead over Southwestern University heading into the final day of the 2020 SCAC Swimming and Diving Championships. Official Website | Friday's Complete Results | Photo Gallery | Video Interviews Playlist
Trinity leads the team standings with 646 points. Southwestern is close behind with 580.5 points while Colorado College rounds out the top three with 430.5 points.
In diving, Anthony Liva of Trinity took top billing on the 1-meter board. He posted a score of 478.80, and beat out Colorado College's Mac O'Brien who scored 362.20. Trinity's Nolan Anthony was third with a score of 278.40 while Austin College's Colton Baker rounded out the field with a tally of 275.00.
Colorado College and Southwestern dominated the 400 IM as the Tigers and Pirates combined to take the top five spots in the event. Colorado College's Cole Thumann earned top individual honors with a time of 4:08.92. His win marked the first-ever for Colorado College in the event and broke a five-year Trinity stranglehold on the event. Southwestern's Matt Oevermann was second after touching the wall in 4:10.42, and teammate Caden Garz was third after clocking a 4:15.94. Topher Shepherd of Colorado College was fourth when he swam a 4:17.34 while Southwestern's Brock Bloomquist was fifth with a time of 4:17.65.
Eric Dallesasse of Colorado College took top honors in the 100 fly for the third-straight year as he won with a time of 50.04. Trinity's Ben Adams finished in second place with a mark of 50.33, and Keith Gill of Southwestern was third with a time of 50.41.
Trinity swept the top three positions in the 200 free as Grayden Nelson earned his first career SCAC individual title. The freshman just edged out teammate Beau Tipton with a time of 1:40.53. Tipton finished 0.03 seconds behind at 1:40.56, and Daniel Sarman was third with a mark of 1:41.42.
In the 100 breast, freshman Ethan Nguyen of Austin College posted the program's second-ever individual win on the men's side, coming home in first with a time of 55.88 - good for a NCAA 'B" cut. Nguyen set a new SCAC championship and open record in the morning prelims when he touched home in a time of 55.60 - breaking the previous mark of 56.20 set by Trinity's Elliott Fleming in 2018. Rounding all-SCAC honors in the event, Alek Argueta of Southwestern placed second with a time of 56.99 and Spencer of Trinity was third in a time of 57.71.
In the last individual event of the evening, Trinity took the top two spots in the 100 back as freshman Matt Lanzara came home first in a time of 51.20 followed by teammate Eamon Morris in a time of 52.31. Julian Frerichs of Colorado College placed third in a time of 52.60.
The Texas Tigers quartet of Lanzara, Elliott Fleming, Tipton, and Shamzi Alkaff came out on top in the 400 medley relay, clocking a winning time of 3:24.72 to earn Trinity's third victory in the last five years in the event. Southwestern's team of Carter Duncan, Alek Argueta, Massimo Gasponi, and Gill finished in second with a time of 3:27.91, and Austin College placed third in the event when Anthony Mowles, Ethan Nguyen, Zachary Griffith, and Cayden Griffith touched the wall in 3:31.62.
The team standings heading into tomorrow's final day are as follows:
1) Trinity University – 646
2) Southwestern University – 580.5
3) Colorado College – 430.5
4) Austin College – 235
5) Centenary College – 204
6) University of the Ozarks – 160
7) McMurry University – 123
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