Men's Swimming & Diving Recap (Week 8) - Around the SCAC

Men's Swimming & Diving Recap (Week 8) - Around the SCAC

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga – SCAC swimming and diving returned to the pool for the first time in 2015 as five of the six SCAC schools were in action this past weekend. 

Austin College
The Ausitn College men's swimming team finished fourth at the Austin College Invite this past weekend. The 'Roos picked up a big win in the 3x100 backstroke with the team of Steven Cole, Eric Drake, and Erik Gentzel edging out Wayland Baptist with a time of 3:01.99 for a first place finish. Cole then teamed with Collin Vu, Braedon Mitchell, and Gentzel to earn another win in the 200 yard freestyle relay, coming in with a time of 1:32.83 in the event. Josh Chanin, Gentzel, Vu, and Mitchell also earned a victory in the 400 yard medley relay, finishing with a time of 3:56.94, nearly six seconds better than the second place team.

Centenary College
The Centenary men's swimming team won the Austin College Invite this past weekend. Collin Baker logged a second place finish for the Gents with a time of 5:20.20 in the 500-yard freestyle while Anthony McDonald also recorded a second place finish coming with a time of 2:07.86 in the 200 IM. Beau Montgomery added a pair of second place finishes to the Maroon and White’s register with a time of 22.86 in the 50-yard freestyle and later with a time of 54.47 in the 100-yard butterfly. Montgomery also logged a third place finish in the 100-free with a time of 50.73. Arash Ataei recorded the fifth, second place finish for the Gents with a time of 1:53.59 in the men’s 200 free. Kellen Bullock and McDonald garnered third and fourth place finishes in the 100-yard breaststroke with times of 1:04.20 and 1:05.79 respectively. Cameron Brandao finished third in the 200-back for the Gents with a time of 2:15.62. Bullock and McDonald finished second and third in the 200-breaststroke with times of 2:24.65 and 2:24.74. Roberto Roig-Perez registered a second place finish in the 200-butterfly with a 2:07.87 while Tapia finished third in the event with a 2:09.41. Baker added a second place finish to his ledger with a time of 4:57.72 in the 400 IM while McDonald, Ataei, Montgomery and Harrison rounded out the men’s day with a second place finish in the 200-free relay with a time of 1:32.23. Wolterman and Russell teamed with Kayla Thornhill and Caitlyn Faulhaber to start things for the Ladies with a third place finish in the 200-yard medley relay with a time of 2:06.03. Wolterman and Taylor added a third and fourth place in the 200-yard free respectively with times of 2:14.18 and 2:16.24. Russell picked up a pair of second place finishes with times of 1:03.69 in the 100-backstroke and a 2:15.77 in the 200-back. Centenary returns to the pool on Saturday, Jan. 24 as the squads host Austin College. Meet time is slated for 1 p.m.

Colorado College
The Colorado College men's swimming team dropped a 146-51 decision to Division I Manhattan College Friday night in Honolulu, Hawaii. Senior Chris Garrity led the way with a pair of second-place finishes in the 50-yard freestyle and the 50-yard butterfly. He also led off on CC's medley relay team that placed second. Seniors Brian Kopec and Alex Laitos and junior Alex Garner swam with Garrity. Laitos finished second in the 50-yard backstroke and freshman Trey Watmore did the same in the 50-yard breastroke. The Tigers return home from their intensive winter training trip to host the Colorado College Classic, Jan. 16-18.

McMurry University
McMurry's men's swimmers placed third at the Austin College Invite. Junior Kamron Salinas picked up a pair of victories in the 100 and 200 breaststroke events.  In the 100 breast, Salinas had a time of 1:02.55, followed by a 2:20.25 in the 200 breast. He also swam a leg on the War Hawks' third place 200 freestyle relay (along with Cameron Mills, Davis Bowers, and Kent Grimes). Grimes was also the runner-up in the 200 backstroke. Freshman Vince Crosby was the War Hawks' workhorse, winning the 1000 yard freestyle (11:26.14) and was third in the 500 freestyle (5:20.57). The McM men also tied for first place (along with Wayland Baptist) in the 200-yard medley relay.  The War Hawks' group – consisting of Nick Helgerson, Christian Chavez, Craig Bell, and Mills – posted a time of 1:40.70 minutes.

Southwestern University
Southwestern swimming and diving returned to competition on Saturday, facing the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio. The men posted three first place, one second and four third place finishes on the day while the women had two second place finishes and three third place. The men also got a record setting performance from diver Dillon Glass. His 3 meter score of 159.25 earned him a third place finish and a spot in the record books. Julian Smith took first in the 100 back in 54.11 and Alex Villarreal finished first in the 400 IM with a time of 4:20.76. Matt Sluss had a strong outing with a first place finish in the 100 fly, shaving one second off his seed time with a finish in 53.11 and third place finish in the 200 free in 1:48.57. Michael Glover snagged second in the 500 free in 5:05.86 while the women's 200 free relay posted a second place finish in 1:44.51. Alex Morris took second in the 400 IM in 5:03.13 and teammate Sarah Hachar finished third in 5:11.20. Third place finishes for the Pirate men were Evan Jones in the 200 fly in 2:01.75, Simmon Belinah in the 100 free with a time of 49.04, Mickey Scharbrough in the 200 breast in 2:18.05, and Marisa McCormick in the 50 free in 26.06. Southwestern returns home for the first time since early in the season to face SCAC conference rival Trinity on Saturday, January 17th at 2 p.m.

Trinity University
The Trinity men’s swimming and diving teams returns to action on Saturday, January 17th in Georgetown, Texas.