By Andrew SnyderFor the 21st straight year, Presidents’ Athletic Conference swimmers, divers, coaches, and fans will flock to Grove City College for the annual conference championship meet.
Conference Championship Coverage
Unusual among collegiate swimming and diving competitions, this meet has served, since its inception, both as a late-season invitational meet and as the championship meet for the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC). In February 2007, the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) held its inaugural championship meet in conjunction with the invitational, and the format of two conference championships within a single invitational has been continued every season since.
While this year’s championship will have many familiar sights – such as 31-year Head Coach John McGowan of Bethany and a live webcast of all sessions – there will be plenty of new and exciting things as well. This year, the invitational has changed its name from the “GCC Invitational” to the “James E. Longnecker Invitational” to honor Grove City’s legendary coach who led the Men’s Swimming and Diving Team to 40 consecutive winning seasons while coaching 44 All-Americans. Also new this year will be the presence of the Saint Vincent Bearcats, who have finished their waiting period as provisional members of the PAC and will now be in contention for the conference title.
The PAC made a name for itself on the national stage over the past decade with numerous NCAA Champions and national record holders including Grove City’s Caleb Courage and Peggy Whitbeck and Washington and Jefferson’s Kaitlyn Orstein. Other dominant swimmers included Westminster’s Ryan Trunk and Grove City’s Timmy Whitbeck. Last year, the PAC found itself with a relatively clean slate as the conference was heavily contested by underclassmen. Of the 240 “splashes” made by men and women in the Championship Heat of Finals in the 2010 meet, 204 were swam by underclassmen – a whopping 85%. A total of 4 Woman’s Finals(200 IM, 100 Fly, 200 Br, 200 Fly) and 4 Men’s Finals(200 IM, 100 Bk, 200 Bk, 100 Fr) did not include a single senior in the top 8, which mean this year’s meet will be even faster and more competitive!
The Grove City Wolverines are looking to complete their third straight sweep of the men’s and women’s titles, and they are strong with nearly a dozen returning All-Americans between the two teams. The Washington and Jefferson women, however, are hoping to rain on Grove City’s parade after completing a perfect 13-0 season, including a 159-141 victory over Grove City just last month. The Westminster Titans have always stepped it up in February and will contend for the title as well. While most swimmers have their eyes on PAC glory, a select few are looking ahead to NCAAs. Westminster senior Courtney Herdt and junior Caitlin Lehberger have already punched their tickets to NCAAs, each attaining A time standards in the 200 breaststroke. Other PAC swimmers with provisional standards include Grove City’s Angela Palumbo, Kait Riesmeyer, and Clay Beckner.
The PAC Championships will begin Wednesday night at 7:30pm with preliminary rounds of diving. Swimming prelims will begin Thursday morning at 10am. Admission is $3 for preliminaries and $5 for finals. Meet information, including links to Live Results and Live Video, is available at www.gccinvitational.com/.
