Kenyon Moves One Step Closer to 30

By Justin Jennings
The final night of competition started off just like the other two, with Kenyon winning the opening event.  After that everyone was saying oh Lord[s] as they went on to win or take the runner-up spot in every event that had to do with swimming.  Staten Islands Pavel Buyanov proves you’re never too old to be a national champion.  John Thomas moves one yard closer to breaking the 200 backstroke record.  It was bitter for sweet when Josh Mitchell won the 100 freestyle.   Harris uses the outside lanes to win his national title.  Amherst helps their top ten cause with wins on both boards.  And Kenyon wins the 400 free relay after qualifying sixth in the morning.  All in all Kenyon put to rest any of the doubters that had them not being able to break 550 points this weekend.  

Make it 18 in a row, Kenyon’s Kegan Borland who placed third in the 400 IM yesterday continues the Lords dominance of college swimming’s ultimate distance event in 15:31.96. Borland who led from start to finish left little hope for 90% of the fans in the crowd that were hoping, wishing, wanting, waiting like a high school boy on prom night for at least one of Kenyon’s long streak of victories to come to an end.  But Emory’s Keith Diggs who bested Borland in the 400 IM last night couldn’t make up the distance Borland put on him from the start finishing second in a time of 15:33.71.  Emory did however take the moral victory out of the mile by placing 2, 3, 4, and 10 to earn more points on the event when Milburn and Lake went 3-4.  Denison’s Wes Bubb took fifth, Coast Guards Bobby Brown takes sixth, Gustavus’ Skylar Davis takes seventh and Kenyon senior Alexander Rantz rounded out the field of eight in the timed finals event.

Horse shoes and hand grenades is what JHU sophomore John Thomas might be thinking after his performance in the 200 backstroke tonight.  Thomas was 22/100 of a second from breaking Leandro Montiero’s 2002 record of 1:47.21 when he won the event in a time of 1:47.43.  Considering he was the only swimmer this year under 1:50 that might just put it into perspective.  Start to finish Thomas was like a coroner as he dissected his way through the 200 going out in 24.56 good enough for almost a half second lead on eventual runner-up Tom Irgens.  It was all over but the awards from there as Thomas just kept on distancing himself from the field.  Irgens, the runner-up, bettered his seed from this morning with 1:50.11.  Union’s Kevin Kewin told Kenyon’s Michael Mpitsos I’m not kissin my sister again when he took third in the event with a 1:50.33 after the two tied earlier this morning.  Williams’ Ben Bullitt, who might just have the best swimming name around, finished in fifth place.  Jesse Sorrell from Kenyon was sixth and Kalamazoo’s Paul Ellis and St. Olaf’s Adam Meyer couldn’t hold on from the morning as they placed seventh and eighth respectively.  Hope’s Phillip Heyboer won the consolation final with a time of 1:51.76.

Well the prospect of seven different national champions on one night was no more as Kenyon’s Joshua Mitchell wins the 100 freestyle in a time of 44.37 for his second individual title in as many days.  The untouchable record remains just that for one more year as Jim Born’s meet record of 43.65 still stands.  Mitchell who found himself in third after the first 50 battled back from 14/100 deficit to split 21.18 and 23.19 to take the event.  NYU’s Andre Lardiere, who was in fourth after the first 50, pulled a David Blaine disappearing act when he cruised on by Alex Sweet and Brad Test to leave them saying how’d he do that and take the second best spot on the podium.  Runner up in the 200 free John Geissinger from Denison can now add a third place finish to his resume as he too squeaked by Sweet and Test who took fourth and fifth in that order.  Springfield’s Roy Birch made the most out of the last event of his career bettering his prelim time on the way to a sixth place finish.  The lone sophomore in the field from DePauw, John Cook, took home his first individual All-American honors with a seventh place finish.  And Jake Koch from St. Olaf touches last good enough for eighth in tonight’s final.  Kenyon’s Blair Withington completes the A-B sweep winning the consolation final in a time of 45.20.

Well Josh Boss at least you don’t have to ride off into swimming obscurity just yet.  The former Flying Dutchmen from Hope keeps his 200 breaststroke record for at least one more year.  The 200 Breast was supposed to shape up to be the most exciting race of the evening and it certainly didn’t disappoint.  It was all Westby for the first 185 yards of the race with Alexander Stoyel glued right to his hips like a grandma to a steering wheel from three lanes away.   Pavel Buyanov looked like he was out of the race until he came storming back in the last 150.  The Staten Island granddaddy of a freshman may not have swum the fastest 200 breaststroke on the day but it was certainly good enough to rise above the field for the top honors.  You don’t want to make excuses for Westby and certainly the senior wouldn’t make them for himself, but it was apparent in those last 15 yards that he was about to complete his twelfth event of these championships.  After the race Westby could only say, “That hurt”.  Westby looked strong in the first 100 ahead of everyone in a 57.78.  He even had Buyanov at the 150 out splitting the geriatric freshman 30.97 to 31.21.  But much like this morning Buyanov brought it home like a preacher wrapping up a Sunday sermon.  Westby dropped to third with a time of 2:01.09 after Stoyel stayed solid the entire race to finish second with a 2:00.70.  Carleton’s Ted Marschall was fourth, JHU’s Brian Keeley and Matt Fedderly fifth and sixth, M.I.T.’s Rastislav Racz seventh, and Williams Tyler Bonewell eighth.  Carthage College junior Stephen Schranck wins the consolation heat in a time of 2:03.34.  A bit of controversy at the beginning of the finals race when the officials hit the recall rope after someone flinched.  The stunned crowd collectively gasped when the officials brought everyone back up to the blocks after the championship heat could have been one swimmer lighter.

(PSSST) Guess what… Kenyon wins!!! I know I know shocker.  But the Lords kept piling on when Matthew Harris won the 200 Butterfly in a time of 1:48.44.  The junior surprised the field after qualifying fifth this morning. Which is the sameposition he still found himself in tonight at the 100 mark.  The junior scholar from Kenyon bounced ahead of the field at the 150 like a kindergartener not taking his Ritalin and swam to the first place finish from there.  Middlebury’s John Dillon held on for second finishing in a time of 1:48.74.  Fellow seniors Chris Millen (Williams) and Kyle Packer (Kenyon) both swam under the 1:50 mark for third and fourth in times of 1:49.59 and 1:49.91 in that order.  Michael Flanagan from Washington University finishes fifth and he’s just a freshman.  After qualifying third in the morning the Ephs senior Alex Ping-Wentworth finishes sixth.  And Emory’s Mark Bernstein and Williams’ Norman Scott finished seventh and eighth.  Johns Hopkins’ Colin Kleinguetl provides the outside smoke for the evening winning the consolation heat in a time of 1:50.34 after just barely qualifying for a night swim in the morning. 

Kai Robinson from Amherst sweeps both boards on his way to helping his team take 10th in the meet.  The diaper dandy from the Merchant Marines, Nicholas Halbach takes second.  Greg Lloyd from TCNJ earns third.  R.I.T.’s man with two first names Matt Joseph takes forth.  Rowan’s Bryan Carlisle takes fifth, Kevin Morgan from Suny Oswego sixth, Trinity’s Ryan Cook seventh, and Hunter Hayes all the way from one state down in Kentucky home of Centre College dives well enough for eighth. 

The Lords just couldn’t be stopped on their way to sweeping all of the relays with 200 sisters.  And for those of you scoring at home that means they won the 400 freestyle relay.  After qualifying sixth in the morning the Lords lead the entire way from start to finish on their way to four out of five relay wins.  Blair Withington leads off 6/100 faster than his consolation wining time four events earlier.  Next up was Matthew Harris in, and I know it’s ridiculous, the second fastest split of 44.77.  Tom Irgens slows the relay down when he crept along with his 45.66 (Sarcasm!!!).  Here’s is the best part Joshua Mitchell, after winning the 100 earlier, proves why he is the best 100 yard freestyle swimmer in 2008 with a 43.23 and touching the wall to finish with a 2:58.80.  Denison does in fact break 3:00 tonight with a time of 2:59.40 to take second.  Johns Hopkins finishes third in 3:00.64. After that it was Amherst who won the battle of the two’s when they place fourth with their 3:02.05, followed by DePauw’s 3:02.41, Washington & Lee’s 3:02.53, and New York University’s 3:02.77.  And winning the “that’s just crazy award” TCNJ rounds out the field of eight swimming with the exact swam time they swam in the morning for a 3:04.17.

All in all the meet may not have see as many new records as the women’s meet did, but they did re-write two of the fastest on the books.  As Kenyon moves one step closer to making it 30 in a row the rest of us have to ask ourselves is it really just death and taxes that are certainties?  Signing off for the last time from the home of Kason Gabbard in northwest Butler County’s Oxford, OH!