The Westminster College men totaled 226.5 points on day one of the 2014-15 Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Swimming & Diving Championships and will carry a 29-point advantage of defending league champion Grove City College going into day two.
Grove City is currently in second place with 197.5 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College in third with 166 points. Saint Vincent College is fourth with 149 points and Bethany College is fifth with 49 points.
The PAC Championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City College's 25th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the ninth annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. Longnecker Pool has been the home of the conference's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
This year's event marks the 52nd anniversary of the PAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.
On Friday and Saturday, preliminary heats for all events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m. on Friday. Event finals are scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Headlining Thursday's championship finals was Saint Vincent senior Zach Ligus (North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) in the 50 free. After recording back-to-back second-place finishes in 2013 and 2014, Ligus claimed the title this season with a time of B-cut time of 20.93 seconds. His time would have also qualified him for the NCAA Division III Championships in 2014.
W&J sophomore Josh Vasko (McKeesport, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) captured his second-straight title on the one-meter board with a finals score of 434.95 to push W&J's string of conference title winners in the event to five-straight years. His preliminary round score of 451.70 surpassed his Longnecker Invitational record set last season as well as the Longnecker Pool record. Vasko's score also qualfied him for the NCAA Division III Regional Diving Championships.
After posting a second-place finish in the 500 free last season, Grove City sophomore Jeremy Kim (Frederick, Md./New Life Christian) won the event with a time of 4:38.12.
Grove City senior Jim Bossert (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek) swam to the title in the 200 IM, posting a winning time of 1:54.06.
Grove City's won its fifth-straight PAC title in the 200 free relay with a time of 1:24.10. Members of the relay included sophomore Drew Nosbisch (Monroeville, Pa./Gateway), sophomore Daniel Peng (Indiana, Pa./Indiana), junior Jordan Delhi (Moneta, Va./Staunton River) and senior Caleb McKusick (Waconia, Minn./Homeschooled). For McKusick and Delhi, it was their third-straight title as members of the 400 free relay.
Westminster claimed its fourth-straight win in the 400 medley relay, finishing with a B-cut time of 3:22.54. Members of the relay included senior Steven Brooks (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman), junior Matthew Baurle (Jeannette, Pa./Penn Trafford), freshman Brad Kolesar (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) and freshman Mitch Stahara (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park). The relay also broke their previous Longnecker Pool record.
Grove City College, seven-time defending Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) champions, and Westminster College will enter day two of the 2014-15 PAC Swimming & Diving Championships tied at 228 points apiece.
Saint Vincent College is currently in third place with 136 points, followed by Washington & Jefferson College in fourth with 131 points. Chatham University is fifth with 99 points and Bethany College is sixth with 58 points.
The PAC Championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City College's 25th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the ninth annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. Longnecker Pool has been the home of the conference's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
On Friday and Saturday, preliminary heats for all events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m. on Friday. Event finals are scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday.
W&J senior Jennifer Suder (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned her third-straight conference title on the three-meter board, finishing with a finals score of 493.85. Suder's score also qualfies her for the NCAA Division III Regional Diving Championships.
After finishing second in the 500 free last season, Grove City sophomore Megan Smith (Tyler, Texas/Kolbe Academy) won the event with a time of 5:02.93.
Grove City senior Lauren Cassano (Venetia, Pa./Peters Twp.) won her second-straight league title in the 200 IM, finishing with a time of 2:08.38.
Saint Vincent sophomore Marissa Frollo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) claimed her second title in as many years in the 50 free, winning the event with a time of 23.91.
Saint Vincent earned its second-straight 200 free relay title, claiming the championship with a time of 1:37.17. Members of the relay were senior Alexis Ferraco (Verona, Pa./Penn Hills), senior Sarah Robbins (Duncansville, Pa./Hollidaysburg), Frollo and senior Paige Pecora (Seward, Pa./Ligonier Valley). All four swimmers were members of the 2014 title-winning relay.
Westminster's 400 medley relay capped off the night by claiming the title with a winning time of 3:55.74. The win for the Titans was their first in the event since the 2011 conference championships. Members of Thursday's relay included senior Marina Rozick (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny), sophomore Samantha Tower (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional), freshman Megan Douds (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) and senior Ashley Wyland (Pittsburgh, Pa./Taylor Allderdice).
