Queens University of Charlotte men’s and women’s swim teams rose to the occasion, overpowering day one of Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship at the Mecklenburg County Aquatic Center in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday, February 11, 2015. The Royals took first place on both sides with 215 points for the men and 247 points for the women, garnering three national records for the day.
The Royals would start the meet strong with one of their best events, the 200 Yard Medley Relay. The women’s relay comprised of Hannah Peiffer, Emma Durante, Madeleine Wallmon, and Alexandra Marshall, respectfully, finished with a 1:41.60 for second place. The men’s relay of Matthew Josa, Niclas Eriksson, Evante Gibson, and Hayden Kosater, respectfully, surpassed the competition with a 1:27.08 first place touch, breaking the current BMC meet record.
Kathryn Johnston and Meridith Boudreaux aided the Royals in a strong first night, finding second and third place finishes in the 1000 Yard Freestyle. Johnston touched at 10:07.67 while Boudreaux trailed close behind with a third place finish of 10:11.28. Both took Division II ‘B’ standard times and would break until the NCAA top 10 (if times hold).
Alex Menke, Jackson Kojima, and Kyle Kemp dominated the water and completely swept the 1000 Yard Freestyle. Menke who finished nearly 24 seconds ahead of his competitors touched first to the wall, topping NCAA Division II swimmers and qualifying for a NCAA ‘A’ standard mark with a 9:07.83. Kojima climbed into second place with a finishing time of 9:32.28, while Kemp would rounded off the event with a Division II ‘B’ standard time of 9:32.97.
The women’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay team of Caroline Arakelian, Patricia Castro-Ortega, McKenzie Stevens, and Lillian Gordy found the wall first, touching in at 7:16.26, more than eight seconds under the previous meet record. Ortega would fly off the blocks with a 1:46.08 lead-off, breaking both the meet record and the NCAA Division II record, raising her to the number one spot in the nation.
The day would end with the men’s 800 Yard Freestyle Relay comprised of Josa, Ben Taylor, Kosater, and Nicholas Arakelian, respectfully, taking first place with a time of 6:27.23. Josa would break the meet record with a 1:36.02 lead-off for his 200 yard freestyle leg of the race. The quartet would then break the conference record by more than seven seconds. They also broke the NCAA Division II record by a half second, giving Queens a total of three national records for the evening.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our athletes and how they created a positive environment that ignited some fast swim which led to three national records,” said Head Coach Jeff Dugdale. “Most importantly, I couldn’t be more proud of the amount of Royals Pride that they demonstrated in getting their hands to the wall. I am impressed with their mindset of how they will tackle the next three days of competition.”
The Royals continue with competition tomorrow as they fight to stay atop the leader boards.
Wingate University redshirt junior distance swimmer Julie Wessler (Sprockhövel, Germany) set a new Bluegrass Mountain Conference meet record en route to a victory in the 1000 freestyle Wednesday night at the Mecklenburg County Aquatics Center (MCAC) pool in downtown Charlotte. The Bulldog women are second after Wednesday night's six events, while the Wingate men are fifth. Thirteen women's teams and 12 men's squads are participating in the 17th annual BMC meet.
Wessler touched with a time of 10:03.38 in the 1000 Freestyle, shattering the meet record of 10:07.70, set by Queens junior Meridith Boudreaux (Lafayette, La.) in 2014. Wessler almost claimed a new Wingate record, narrowly missing Paige Schmidt's time of 10:03.24 (2013 NCAA Division II national championships). A native of Clearwater, Fla., Schmidt won the BMC 1000 freestyle four times (2010-13).
"We couldn't have scripted tonight any better," Wingate head men's and women's swimming coach Kirk Sanocki says. "Everyone is swimming so fast...across the board. I am looking forward to the rest of the meet."
Wingate women's recap
The Wingate women started the meet in a big way, winning the 200 Medley Relay with an NCAA Division II "A" cut time of 1:41.29. The posting is also a new BMC regular season and meet record. The Bulldog quartet includes junior Rita Koryukova (Omsk, Russia), redshirt sophomore Olga Kosheleva (Yekaterinburg, Russia), senior Jasmine Arzadon (Lorton, Va.) and junior Ana Fish (Carthage, N.C.).
"The 200 Medley Relay set the tone for the night," Sanocki says. "The scary part...this is not our fastest 200 Medley Relay. I am very excited to see what these ladies can do the rest of the week."
Wessler kept the good times rolling with her victory in the next event, the 1000 Freestyle. The Bulldog women completed the evening with a school-record setting second place finish in the 800 Freestyle Relay. Wingate's time was 7:24.45. Team members include sophomore Sofia Petrenko (Arkhangelsk, Russia), freshman Leigh-Ann Clark (Newport News, Va.), senior Kellie Gervas (Imperial, Pa.) and junior Armony Dumur (Amiens, France).
Wingate men's recap
The Wingate men put an exclamation point on an excellent night by tying the school record in the 800 Freestyle Relay. The Bulldogs finished second with a time of 6:31.70. The WU foursome includes sophomore Leif-Henning Klüver (Risum-Lindholm, Germany), junior Ossian Arvidsson (Kungälv, Sweden), senior Issam Zeraidi (Brussels, Belgium) and freshman Jerome Heidrich (Hamburg, Germany).
"I believe these guys have a legitimate chance to make the big dance (in Indianapolis March 11-14)," Sanocki says. "They tied a school record set by Mason Norman (Duluth, Ga.), Kyle Corcoran (Kent, Wash.), Daniel De Francisco (Cali, Colombia) and Gus Chagas (Recife, Brazil) in the 2009 NCAA Division II national championship meet. I would say this is good company."
The Bulldogs started their night with a bronze medal performance in the 200 Medley Relay (1:29.92). The Wingate quartet includes senior Samuel Knapp (Madison, Ala.), sophomore Roman Kanyuka (Moscow, Russia), junior Damjan Petrovski (Skopje, Macedonia) and Issam Zeraidi. Both the 800 Freestyle Relay and the 200 Medley Relay teams posted NCAA Division II "B" cuts Wednesday night.
Catawba set two school records on the men's side on the opening night of the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimming Championships on Wednesday night at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center. Finn Furstenwerth (Hamburg, Germany/Gymnasium Farmsen) set a new mark in the 1000 free, while the men also set a record in the 800 free relay.
Furstenwerth finished fourth overall in the 1000 free with his record swim of 9:33.13 which was also a NCAA II 'B' cut time. He broke the old mark of Andrew McCollister (Rockwell, N.C./Salisbury HS) by seven seconds. McCollister placed seventh this year with a time of 9:48.00 which became the fourth fastest time in school history.
The 800 free relay team of Sebastian Holmberg (Akersberga, Sweden/Skolan), Theo Zatterstrom (Stockholm, Sweden/Fryshuset), Toomas Goutt (Saint Witz, France/de Vinci) and Dominik Brus (Krakow, Poland/Loms Krakow) posted a new record time of 6:42.41 to finish fifth. The time was a 'B' cut.
Brus, Jevgenij Gamper (Vilnius, Lithuania/Kachialov), Holmberg and Goutt went fourth with a 'B' cut time of 1:29.95 in the 200 medley relay. That time took the third spot in the record book.
For the women, Anna Barnes (Suwanee, Ga./N. Gwinett HS/Darton St.) took a ninth place in the 1000 free which was the only individual event of the first night. Her time of 10:44.60 was the fourth best time in school history.
In the relays, Catawba placed eighth in the 200 medley and seventh in the 800 free. The 800 free team of Nadine Brockmann (Hamburg, Germany/Ossietzsky), Amy Cujas (Mocksville, N.C./Forsyth Country Day), Barnes and Katia Kruglov (Karmiel, Israel/Ort Kramim) posted the second best time in school history at 7:49.85.
The men currently sit third among a dozen teams with the women standing in sixth of 13 teams. The BMC Championships will run through Saturday at the Mecklenburg Aquatic Center.
