St. Mary's (Md.) Men
The St. Mary's College of Maryland men's swim team wrapped up action at the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Men's Swimming Championship with a fourth-place finish in the six-team field.
St. Mary's tallied 397 points for fourth, having its streak of consecutive second-place finishes halted at three. The Seahawks came in 31 points behind third-place Salisbury University. University of Mary Washington claimed its 21st overall (15th consecutive) conference championship title with 915 points after winning 13 of 18 possible events.
Junior Grant Burgess (Fallston, Md./Fallston) collected a fourth-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle in 16:44.27 followed by first-year Max Madden (Cape St. Clair, Md./Broadneck) in fifth in 16:49.71. Sophomore Andrew Braun (Bowie, Md./DeMatha Catholic) also scored for the Seahawks with a 10th-place finish in 17:33.92.
Junior Kian Karimi (Kensington, Md./Walter Johnson) earned a fourth-place finish in the 200 butterfly in 1:56.65 while senior captain Chris Carpino (Medfield, Mass./Medfield) took 14th in 2:12.06.
The foursome of sophomore Matt Walchuck (Middletown, Md./Middletown), Burgess, senior captain Bobby Witkop (Chevy Chase, Md./Bethesda-Chevy Chase), and junior Michael Speer (Springfield, Va./West Springfield) picked up a fifth-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay in 3:16.61.
First-year Kieran Broder (Olney, Md./Georgetown Prep) paced St. Mary's in the 200 breaststroke with a sixth-place finish in 2:14.23 while senior captain Ryan Reis (Frederick, Md./Quince Orchard) went 2:31.56 for 16th.
Walchuck swam to eighth place in the 100 freestyle with a time of 48.40 while Speer won the consolation finals in 48.18 for ninth overall.
Junior Zach Lilley (Myersville, Md./Middletown) went 2:02.62 in the 200 backstroke for eighth place while junior Michael Abrams (Garrett Park, Md./Walter Johnson) finished in 14th with a time of 2:07.44 followed by senior Nathan Brocenos (Laurel, Md./Reservoir) in 15th in 2:09.82.
TEAM STANDINGS (through Event 36): 1. Mary Washington, 915 … 2. York (Pa.), 553 … 3. Salisbury, 428 … 4. St. Mary's, 397 … 5. Marymount (Va.), 384 … 6. Frostburg State, 219
St. Mary's (Md.) Women
Senior captain Brooke Raab (Parkton, Md./Hereford) posted an NCAA B cut and school record in picking up her second title of the weekend Sunday night. The St. Mary's College of Maryland women's swim team finished third on the final day of the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Swimming Championships.
Raab won the 200 breaststroke by a near four-second margin over the second-place finisher, senior Alex Parrish of University of Mary Washington, as she touched the wall in 2:22.62. Her time was both an NCAA B cut as well as a school record. Raab shaved off over two seconds from her own mark (2:24.86) which she had set a year ago.
St. Mary's tallied 469 points to finish third in this year's championship meet, snapping a seven-year streak of second-place finishes. The Seahawks were 23 points behind second-place Marymount (Va.) University. Mary Washington notched its 25th consecutive CAC championship title with 944 points after capturing gold in 16 of 18 possible events.
Junior Cara Machlin (Rockville, Md./Walter Johnson) had a solid final day of competition for St. Mary's with two top-3 finishes on the night. Machlin claimed a second-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle in 18:05.36 before picking up a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly in 2:11.54.
Seniors Hannah Hafey (Germantown, Md./Seneca Valley) and Kelsey Abernathy (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial), first-year Elizabeth Straathof (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson), and junior Zoe McIlmail (Frederick, Md./Urbana) contributed to a second-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay with a time of 3:37.95.
Senior captain Elaina Kohles (Bel Air, Md./John Carroll) tallied a fourth-place finish in the 1,650 freestyle in 18:21.01 to give the Seahawks a pair of top-5 finishes in the event. In the 200 backstroke, Hafey placed sixth in 2:13.53 while junior Karlie Straight (Ocean City, Md./Decatur) won the consolation finals for ninth overall with a time of 2:18.63.
McIlmail led St. Mary's in the 100 freestyle with a seventh-place finish in 54.00 followed by first-year Elizabeth Straathof (Bethesda, Md./Walter Johnson) in eighth in 54.95 while Abernathy took second in the consolation finals for 10th overall in 55.82.
First-year Rachel Sonnenberg (Derwood, Md./Magruder) went 2:22.49 in the 200 butterfly for third in the consolation finals and 11th overall.
TEAM STANDINGS (through Event 36): 1. Mary Washington, 944 … 2. Marymount, 492 … 3. St. Mary's, 462 … 4. Salisbury, 433 … 5. York (Pa.), 371 … 6. Frostburg State, 240
Salisbury
The Salisbury University men's and women's swimming teams capped off a fantastic weekend at the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference swimming championships, as the men placed third and the women finished fourth overall on the final day of action.
It was a record-breaking weekend for the Sea Gulls, as the men and women combined for 16 school records during the championships, including six more records today.
In the preliminaries for the men's 200-yard butterfly, senior Daniel Keller qualified for the finals, taking fourth place, while also breaking a school record that was set back in 1998 with his time of 1:57.75. Keller took fifth in the finals and touched the wall at 1:58.68.
Junior Nicki Schult finished fifth and broke a seven-year-old school record set by Becky Akers in the women's 1,650-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 18:21.74.
In the women's 100-yard freestyle preliminaries, freshman Bizu Baldinazzo grabbed sixth and touched the wall at 54.14 seconds, qualifying her for the finals in the event. In the finals, Baldinazzo cut her time by almost a second and broke a school record set by Alison Calcaterra in 1999, finishing in a time of 53.52 seconds. Baldinazzo placed fourth in the race.
The women set another school record in the 400-yard freestyle relay, as a team of sophomoresVictoria Radcliffe and Layne Gable, Baldinazzo and Schult finished the race in a time of 3:41.68, capturing third and breaking a 16-year-old record.
Gable added in indivdual top-10 finish in the women's 200-yard butterfly, swimming for eighth-place and tabbing a final time of 2:19.86.
In the men's 400-yard freestyle relay, juniors Will Gough and Jake Blazer, and sophomoresOkan Eyigor and Scott Schirmer set a new school record, recording a final time of 3:09.21 and taking second in the event. Gough swam the first leg of the event, and while doing so, set a new school record for the 100-yard freestyle, touching the wall at 45.96 seconds.
Eyigor placed second with a time of 1:54.46 in the preliminaries for the men's 200-yard backstroke, which qualified him for the finals. The Istanbul, Turkey native improved his time in the finals for the event, grabbing second place again and recording a final time of 1:54.03.
In the men's 100-yard freestyle, Blazer notched a fifth-place finish and touched the wall at 48.02 seconds.
The third-place finish for the men's team is its best since the 2007-08 season.
The Sea Gull men conclude the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 2-7 (1-4) CAC, while the women with a record of 3-6 (2-3) CAC.
Men's Team Rankings (Through 36 events)
1. University of Mary Washington – 915 points
2. York College of Pennsylvania – 553 points
3. Salisbury University – 428 points
4. St.Mary's College of Maryland – 397 points
5. Marymount University – 384 points
6. Frostburg State University – 219 points
Women's Team Rankings (Through 36 events)
1. University of Mary Washington – 944 points
2. Marymount University – 492 points
3. St.Mary's College of Maryland – 469 points
4. Salisbury University – 433 points
5. York College of Pennsylvania – 371 points
6. Frostburg State University – 240 points
