The Grove City College men's swimming and diving program totaled 217 team points on the opening day of the 2013-14 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Swimming and Diving Championships.
Westminster College is currently in second place after six events with 198 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College in third with 161 points. Saint Vincent College sits in fourth place (137), followed by Bethany College in fifth (71).
The PAC Championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City's 24th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the eighth annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. This year's event marks the 51st anniversary of the PAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Longnecker Pool has served as the home of the conference's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
The Wolverines' 200 freestyle relay kicked things off on Thursday evening with its 200 freestyle relay victory. Freshman Drew Nosbisch (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), senior CP Delhi (Moneta, Va./Staunton River), junior Caleb McKusick (Waconia, Minn./Homeschooled) and sophomore Jordan Delhi (Moneta, Va./Staunton River) clocked a winning time of 1:24.91.
Westminster junior Jake Pletz (Venetia, Pa./Peters Twp.) surpassed the NCAA Division III B-cut standard on his way to claiming the 500 freestyle with a winning time of 4:36.17.
Westminster's Dan Pletz (Venetia, Pa./Peters Twp.) was the first freshman to claim the 200 individual medley title since Grove City's Ben Bowser in 2009 with a winning time of 1:55.65.
Westminster junior Steven Brooks (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) posted a time of 21.24 to claim the 50 freestyle after finishing third in the event a year ago.
Sophomore Drew Hugenberg (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) became W&J's fourth-straight three-meter diving champion after earning a total 11-dive score of 386.00 Thursday night.
Westminster wrapped up competition Thursday with a victory in the 400 medley relay, finishing with a winning time of 3:26.15. Members of the Titans' relay were Brooks, sophomore Matt Baurle (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford), freshman Joey Spurio (Hubbard, Ohio/Hubbard) and Jake Pletz.
Friday's preliminary rounds are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the day's seven event finals to get underway at 6 p.m.
The Grove City College women's swimming and diving program used a pair of individual wins, along with an evening-ending relay victory, to total 242 points and head into day two of the 2013-14 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Swimming and Diving Championships carrying an 11-point advantage after six events completed on Thursday evening.
Westminster College is currently in second place with 231 points, followed by Saint Vincent College in third with 170. Washington & Jefferson College is in fourth (114), Chatham University is in fifth (82) and Bethany College is in sixth (64).
The PAC Championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City's 24th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the eighth annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. This year's event marks the 29th anniversary of the PAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Longnecker Pool has served as the home of the conference's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
Saint Vincent's 200 freestyle relay squad became the program's first-ever conference relay champion, finishing the event with a finals time of 1:36.63. Members of the squad were junior Alexis Ferraco (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills), freshman Marissa Frollo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills), junior Sarah Robbins (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg Area) and junior Paige Pecora (Seward, Pa./Ligonier Valley).
Grove City sophomore Megan Bilko (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) established new pool, meet, school and conference records while also surpassing the NCAA Division III B-cut standard in the 500 after clocking a time of 4:56.96 in her championship swim. Bilko also claimed the 500 in 2013 as a freshman.
Grove City junior Lauren Cassano (Venetia, Pa./Peters Twp.) claimed the 200 individual medley after finishing second in 2013 with a time of 2:08.70.
In the 50 freestyle Saint Vincent's Frollo became the first freshman to win the meet's shortest event since Grove City's Angela Palumbo in 2010, finishing with a winning time of 24.03.
Chatham sophomore Alexis Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) became the Cougars' second-straight PAC champion on the one-meter board after posting an 11-dive total of 452.55. Junior Kianna Hedjazi (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway) claimed the one-meter title a year ago.
Grove City's Cassano, senior Kaley Hess (Reamstown, Pa./Cocalico), Bilko and junior Tori Baker (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) teamed up to cap off the championship finals on Thursday with their victory in the 400 medley, registering a winning time of 3:56.09.
Friday's preliminary rounds are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with championship finals set to get underway at 6 p.m.
