It was a dominating performance by the Luther College swimming and diving team as it cruised to the 2007 Liberal Arts Championships team title. The title was the third in a row for the Norse and capped off a season that included a dual meet record of 6-0 and its fourth Iowa Conference championship.
During the three-day event hosted by Coe College Feb. 15-17, Luther set 13 school records, five pool records, three meet records and posted six times that provisionally (B-cut) qualified for the NCAA Division III National Swimming and Diving Championships.
Luther tallied 964.50 points finishing ahead of Lindenwood University (795) by 169.5 points. Loras College was third with 359.50. Final team scores.
Head Coach Lance Huber and Diving Coach Dave Happel were named Coach of the Year. Cameron Webb, who tallied the most points of any individual at the meet, was named the Swimmer of the Year.
Webb earned this award thanks to three individual first place finishes and three first place finishes as a member of a relay team.Individually, he was crowned champion of the 500 freestyle (4:43.75), 200 freestyle (1:43.27) and the 100 freestyle (47.57). His individual times in the 500 and 200 were school records. He was also a B-cut qualifier in the 200 freestyle.
He also swam the anchor legs for the first place 200 freestyle relay (1:24.57), 400 medley relay (3:28.35) and the 400 freestyle relay (3:09.20). All three relays established school records.The 200 freestyle and 400 medley were also B-cut qualifying times.
Joining Webb on the 200 freestyle were Eric Crawford, Zach Sayles and Ben Skutnik. This foursome broke a seven year old mark (1:26.68).
Bryan Perrott, Michael Pettengill and Andrew Bross completed the foursome for the 400 medley relay, that broke the old record (3:36.02) that sat atop the record books since 1995.
The 400 freestyle relay, broke the oldest relay record on the books (3:12.10), set in 1983. Sayles, Perrott and Aaron Zander swam the first three legs.
The foursome of Perrott, Pettengill, Crawford and Sayles also set a school record in the 200 medley relay (1:35.54), finishing second behind Lindenwood University (1:35.02). The old mark in this event (1:37.57) had been atop the record books since 2001.
Pettengill and Bross joined Webb, posting individual B-cut times. Pettengill provisionally qualified for the national finale in both the 100 breaststroke (57.33) and the 200 breaststroke (2:06.37). Both times were meet and pool records during his gold medal performances.
Bross, who placed second in both the 200 IM (1:59.02) and 200 butterfly (1:56.00), provisionally qualified as champion of the 100 butterfly (51.36).
School records were also recorded by Perrott, Sayles and Spencer Robbins. Perrott set new marks in the 100 backstroke (53.48) and 200 backstroke (1:55.97). The old mark in the 100 backstroke had been on the record books for six years, set by Ryan Micale (53.89). He broke his own mark in the 200 backstroke.
Sayles broke a 10-year record in the 50 freestyle (21.34). The old mark of (21.58) was placed on the record books by Matt Miller in 1997.
Robbins, who placed third in the 100 butterfly (52.14), won the 200 butterfly (1:55.63) snapping Bross' record (1:56.01) set in 2006.
Webb, Pettengill, Bross and the members of the two relay teams, will have to wait until Mar. 1, when the NCAA will release who has officially qualified for the national championships. The men's National Swimming and Diving Championships will be held in Houston, Texas Mar. 15-17.
Luther women won their second Liberal Arts Championship by 139.5 points. Lindenwood University was second (646.5) followed by Loras College (476). Coe College hosted the three-day event Mar. 15-17. Luther's last Liberal Arts title was won in 2005.
Luther put on a dominating performance, posting 14 school records and one meet record. Head Coach Lance Huber was named Coach of the Year. Luther diving coach Dave Happel also earned a post-meet award, named Diving Coach of the Year.
Elissa Schmidt and Valerie Hoops returned home with multiple first place finishes. Schmidt won the 100 freestyle (53.69) and 200 freestyle (1:57.51), breaking her own school records in the process. Schmidt also placed third in the 50 freestyle (25.13).
Hoops set a meet record and school record in the 500 freestyle (5:12.32), and also won the 1,650 freestyle (18:02.94) with a school record. Amy Schneider held the old marks in both events set in 2006. Hoops also set a school record in the 400 IM (4:44.97), an event she placed second.
Kristine Brick brought home a first place finish in the 200 IM (2:13.24), second place finish in the 100 butterfly (1:00.24) and a third place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:15.14). Her times in the 200 IM and 100 fly were new school records.
Sara Kessler and Lauren Rauchwarter established new school marks in the 200 backstroke and 100 backstroke respectively. Kessler placed first with a time of (2:12.79), breaking the old record (2:14.59) set by Veronica Johnson in 2003. Rauchwarter placed second (1:01.59), breaking Stephanie Haasis mark (1:02.71) also set in 2003.
All five relay teams set school records. The first place 800 freestyle relay of Schmidt, Hoops, Betsy Gilbertson and Amy Schneider (7:57.69), set a meet record as well and crushed the old school record (8:02.92) set in 2006.
Schmidt, Schneider, Hoops and Bethany Nicoll, started the three-day meet with a second place finish in the 200 freestyle relay. They posted a time of (1:41.50), breaking the old school record by three-tenths of a second (1:41.80) set in 2005.
Sara Kessler, Gilbertson, Brick and Schmidt placed second in the 400 medley relay, posting a school record (4:07.08) by three seconds.
Kessler, Gilbertson, Brick and Hoops posted a time of (1:53.10) for a second place finish in the 200 medley relay, breaking the old school record (1:54.05) set in 1999.
Schmidt, Schneider, Nicoll and Hoops wrapped up the three-day event with a second place finish in the 400 freestyle relay (3:39.43). This foursome broke the old record set in 2001 by two seconds.
Liberal Arts Championships Final Results.
