The Cleveland State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams remained in the lead after three days of competition at the 2013 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Championships, but the Vikings have defending champion Milwaukee right on their heels.
Cleveland State’s lead over Milwaukee is 43.5 points on the men’s side and just nine points on the women’s side.
The women’s race remains very close as the top four teams are still just separated by 28.5 points. CSU is in the lead with 487.5 points, followed closely by Milwaukee with 478.5. UIC is third with 464.5 points with Green Bay close behind at 459 points. Wright State (288), Youngstown State (262) and Valparaiso (121.5) round out the women’s field.
On the men’s side, Cleveland State (529.5), Milwaukee (486) and UIC (468) are the top-three contenders, with Green Bay (376.5), Wright State (296) and Valparaiso (128) rounding out the men’s race.
The pool saw a lot of activity on Friday night as 11 individual finals and two relay races were run.
Youngstown State’s Ashley Dow defended her title in the women’s 100 back with two dominating performances. The Penguin sophomore lowered her HL record in the preliminaries, qualifying with the top time of :54.44. In the finals, Dow lowered her record again, winning the finals in a time of :54.40. Cleveland State’s Al Shillito won the men’s 100 back in a time of :49.39.
Milwaukee’s Emily McClellan won a final for the second consecutive night, this time winning the 100 breast (:59.51) for the second consecutive season. Ryan Korslin of Green Bay won the men’s 100 breast in :54.81
Veronica Gibson of UIC started the evening –and got the home crowd going – with a win in the women’s 400 IM, while Willem Poelmans won a final for the second consecutive night when he won the men’s 400 IM.
Cleveland State freshman Adam Ingledew won his first Horizon League title, winning the men’s 200 free in 1:38.49. UIC’s Melanie Waszak won the women’s 200 free in 1:49.66. Alice Sommerville of Cleveland State won the 100-fly, defeating her teammate and last year’s champion Alex Johansson by .67 seconds. Another Viking, Alex Lewis, won the men’s 100 fly, beating UWM’s Mike Lucchesi by .31 seconds.
Whitney Johnson ended the individual portion of the evening by winning the women’s 1-meter diving event. The UIC sophomore won the 3-meter event on Wednesday.
Friday evening ended with the 800 free relays. The UIC women’s team won the first heat, shaving almost three seconds off the previous HL League and Championship record with a time of 7:23.81. Milwaukee jumped out to an early lead in the men’s race and held off a late charge from Wright State to win in a time of 6:37.61.
2013 Horizon League Swimming and Diving Winners (Day Three)
Women 400 IM: Veronica Gibson, UIC – 4:23.65
Men 400 IM: Willem Poelmans, Green Bay – 3:52.85
Women 100 Fly: Alice Sommerville, Cleveland State - :55.07
Men 100 Fly: Alex Lewis, Cleveland State – :48.30
Women 200 Free: Melanie Waszak, UIC – 1:49.66
Men 200 Free: Adam Ingledew, Cleveland State – 1:38.49
Women 100 Breast: Emily McClellan, Milwaukee - :59.51
Men 100 Breast: Ryan Korslin, Green Bay - :54.81
Women 100 Back: Ashley Dow, Youngstown State - :54.40 (League and Championship Record)
Men 100 Back: Al Shillito, Cleveland State - :49.39
Women’s 1-meter Diving: Whitney Johnson, UIC – 296.95
Women 800 Free Relay: UIC – 7:23.81 (League and Championship Record)
Men 800 Free Relay: Milwaukee – 6:37.61
Men’s Standings (Through Day Three)
1. Cleveland State 529.5
2. Milwaukee 486
3. UIC 468
4. Green Bay 376.5
5. Wright State 296
6. Valparaiso 128
Women’s Standings (Through Day Three)
1. Cleveland State 487.5
2. Milwaukee 478.5
3. UIC 464.5
4. Green Bay 459
5. Wright State 288
6. Youngstown State 262
7. Valparaiso 121.5
