Toledo Takes Over Lead At MAC Championships

Bobcats Still Lurking in Second at MAC Championships
For the second-straight day, the Ohio University swimming and diving team rewrote the Ohio record book en route to resting in second place through two days at the Mid-American Conference Championships, hosted by Bowling Green.

The Bobcats, who were tied for second after day one, have compiled 228 points over the opening two days of the four-day meet and are just six points behind first-place Toledo. Miami dropped from first to third on the second day and trails Ohio by 12 points, while Eastern Michigan is in fourth with 164 points.

“We’re the type of team that gets stronger as the meet progresses and our strategy is to have more opportunities as the meet progresses, so to be in sole possession of second place and closer to first place than we were last night is very exciting,” Ohio head coach Greg Werner said.

Senior Ashley Marion (London, Ont.), junior Chelsey Bower (Bethel Park, Pa.), sophomore Rachel Heim (San Diego, Calif.) and freshman Anne Donovan (Findlay, Ohio) combined to win the 200 free relay for Ohio in a school and MAC-record time of 1:30.47. The mark edged the previous school record, which had stood since 2000, by 3.03 seconds, and broke the league standard by just over a second and a half. The Bobcats won the race for the 12th time in school history, but the first time since 2004. Marion’s leadoff split of 23.41 was a personal best in the 50 free and the fourth-best time in school history.

Bower set the Ohio record in the 50 free during the prelims Thursday with a time of 22.48. The junior then went on to claim the 50 free MAC title Thursday night in 22.55. Bower’s prelim time broke the previous record by less than a second and narrowly set a new conference mark, as well, a record that had stood since 1997. It was just the Bobcats’ sixth crown in the event. Donovan also qualified for the finals and finished fourth in 23.40. Her prelim time of 23.32 was a personal best and the third-best mark in program history.

In the 200 individual medley, Marion placed second in a time of 2:00.13, breaking her second individual school record at the meet. She broke the previous standard by just under two ticks, which had stood since 2003, and her prelim time of 2:00.81 was a MAC record until Toledo’s Meg Reissig won the 200 IM in 1:59.49 to establish the new league mark.

Junior Lindsay Hamilton (White City, Sask.) placed third in one-meter diving with a score of 266.65, while Akron’s Katie Carter won the event. Fellow junior Amy Bromberg (Deerfield, Ill.) finished 11th on the one-meter board with a score of 217.55.

The Bobcats had three swimmers qualify for the 500 free finals, as sophomores Amanda Traylor (Los Alamitos, Calif.) and Stacey Huber (Gainesville, Fla.) touched in fourth and sixth, respectively, while freshman Sarah Owen (Portsmouth, England) was right behind in seventh. Traylor’s time of 4:49.18 was a personal best and the second-fastest time in school history. Toledo’s Jacy Dyer won the race in 4:45.50.

Ohio’s 200 free relay time, as well as Bower’s 50 free time, Marion’s 200 IM time and Traylor’s 500 free time were all NCAA provisional qualifying times, which could earn them a spot in the NCAA Championships.

“We had a very nice day,” Werner said. “It’s not just the three school records and MAC records, but in qualifying (provisionally) for the NCAA Championships. They did a great job and finishing up with the relay win was a great way to walk off the pool deck.”

On opening night, Ohio set school records in the 800 free relay and the 200 medley relay, while Marion set the school record in the 200 free on her leadoff split in the 800 free relay.

The MAC Championships continue Friday, Feb. 27 with swimming prelims at 11 a.m., three-meter diving prelims at 1 p.m. and finals beginning at 7 p.m., all at BGSU’s Cooper Pool. Friday night’s finals include the 400 IM, the 100 fly, in which Heim is the defending champion, the 200 free, the 100 breast, the 100 back and the 400 medley relay.

“We’re just short of the midway point (of the meet), but we’ve got a lot of momentum going and tomorrow’s a big day for us,” Werner said. “We’ve got to do our job in the morning so we can have our fun at night.”