Loras saw school records shattered on Thursday night at the 2015 Liberal Arts Championships. In total, six school records fell, including the Men's 50 Free, Men's 200 IM, Men's 200 Free Relay, the Women's 200 IM, the Women's 100 Back and the Women's 400 Medley Relay.
Sophomore Ike Casey shaved .07 seconds off his time in the 50 Free prelims, posting the best time at 21.15 and breaking the Loras record, which he owned already. Entering the 2014-15 season, the Loras record in the 50 Free was 21.34, which Casey originally broke back in December at the Grinnell Invitational. Casey's time of 21.22 bested Drew Sodey's 2006 record of 21.34. Entering the finals, Casey was the favorite and the Iowa City native did not disappoint, breaking his own record once again, this time with a mark of 21.11.
Joining Casey in the record books on Thursday was junior Zach Benson who shattered his own record from a year ago. At last year's Liberal Arts Championships, Benson set the school record in the 200 IM with a time of 1:56.84. Coming into Thursday, Benson was seeded with a time of 2:00.92. In the prelims, Benson shaved 3.47 seconds off that mark to post a time of 1:57.45. Then, in the finals, Benson made history with a time of 1:55.69. In total, the Upland, California product cleared his previous season best by 5.23 seconds.
The next record to fall was the Men's 200 Free Relay, which had stood in place since 2012. With an entry time of 1:29.17, the Loras relay team consisting of Benson, Casey, senior Matt DeWane, and senior Grant Duncan left nothing in the tank, cutting 3.64 seconds off their previous best time to take second in the prelims with a time of 1:25.33. Duncan was the lone member of the team that set the record in 2012, as he was joined by Jakob Bridenbaugh, Andy Pape and Thomas Graziano. Duncan anchored both teams
The first of the women's records to fall on Thursday was the 200 IM, which senior Lexie Mollahan broke. Staring at a 14-year old record, Mollahan entered the weekend with a seeded time of 2:14.11. She already had her name in Loras' record books before Thursday as a part of two relay teams, but Mollahan wanted to cap her career in a big way.
"When I first came to Loras, I saw the school records up in the pool and saw the time for the 200 IM and thought that I could get there and beat that record," Mollahan said. "Every day in practice, my teammates and I would look at the records and talk about what we needed to do to get there."
After posting a time of 2:13.13 in the prelims, Mollahan left everything she had in the pool on Thursday night, resulting in a record to call her own. With a time of 2:10.90, Mollahan broke Meghan Hesseling's record from 2001 of 2:12.35.
"I've put so much time into this over my entire career that when I learned that I had broken the record, it was an unreal feeling knowing that my name will be in the record book and that all of my hard work has paid off."
Adding to what was already a special night, Mollahan and her teammates, seniors Mary Kathryn Maher and Clare Ehlbeck as well as freshman Kim Breaux, rewrote last year's record in the 400 Medley Relay. Seeded with a time of 4:06.31, Loras shaved nearly three seconds off that mark and finished with a time of 4:03.33. A year ago, Loras relay team set the school record with a time of 4:07.38. Due to the loss of Katie Callaghan, Breaux stepped in and performed with great vigor on Thursday night, leading to a new school record.
With Maher starting off the 400 Medley Relay, her split of 1:01.52 in the backstroke earned herself a new record as well. At the 2014 Liberal Arts Championships, Maher set the school record in the 100 Back with a time of 1:01.94.
"I'm really happy with the effort they are putting in," Loras Swimming Head Coach Doug Colin said. "The ones who have dedciated themselves to getting better are being rewarded."
In addition to the Liberal Arts Championship, the four Iowa Conference schools are also battling for their own titles. With Casey's finish in the 50 Free and Benson's finish in the 200 IM, Loras now has two conference champions to their name.
The 2015 Liberal Arts Championships continue on Friday, February 13 at the Coe College Natatorium in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
