The Westminster College men's swimming and diving squad will be looking to defend its Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) team title at the 2015-16 PAC Swimming and Diving Championships, scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, February 10-13.
The conference championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City College's 26th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the 10th annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. Longnecker Pool has been the home of the league's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
On Wednesday, the preliminaries in the women's one-meter and men's three-meter diving events will begin at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, preliminary heats for all swimming events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Event finals are scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to each morning's preliminary rounds is $6.00, while admission to each evening's finals is $8.00. Heat sheets are $4.00 per session.
This year's event marks the 53rd anniversary of the PAC Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Last year's Championships
Westminster collected its sixth PAC team title at last year's Championships, totaling 827.5 points during the three-day event. Grove City was second with 582.5 points, followed by Saint Vincent College in third with 524 points. Washington & Jefferson College finished fourth (478) and Bethany College finished fifth (139).
Westminster also captured league titles in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2013.
Last year's PAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year honors went to Westminster's Rob Klamut for the eighth time. W&J's Vic Galati, in his ninth year with the Presidents, swept the PAC's Diving Coach of the Year awards last season. He is a combined 11-time winner of the league's Diving Coach of the Year awards.
Strong field aiming for Swimmer of the Year award
This year's league championships will be without one its most decorated swimmers in recent history. Westminster's Steven Brooks (Boardman, Ohio/Boardman) claimed PAC Swimmer of the Year honors for the third-straight time in 2015, swimming to his third-straight conference titles in the 100 back (49.35) and 200 back (1:49.66) and finishing second in the 50 free (20.64). He also swam on the Titans' winning 400 free (3:06.33), 200 medley (1:32.30) and 400 medley (3:22.54) relays.
Westminster senior Matthew Baurle (Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford) headlines a talented group vying for 2016 Swimmer of the Year honors. He has won three-straight PAC titles in the 100 breast and 200 breast and holds the event's top times in both events (100: 57.06, B-cut; 200: 2:04.69, B-cut) this season. Baurle, also a three-time champion with the Titans' 200 and 400 medley relays, has the event's fourth-best time (2:00.04) in the 200 IM.
Westminster sophomore Mitch Stahara (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) made an impressive debut in his first conference championship event last season, earning a league title in the 200 free and finishing second in the 100 free and 500 free. He also swam on the winning 400 medley and 400 free relays. Stahara enters this year's Championships with the event's top times in the 100 free (46.23), 200 free (1:41.11) and 500 free (4:40.34).
Swimmers to watch for
Bethany
**Freshman Cheyne Stresky (Oxford, Mich./Oxford) will make his PAC Championships debut this season holding the event's fifth-fastest time in the 500 free (4:49.49), the seventh-best time in the 100 back (53.42) and 11th-best time in the 200 back (2:01.48).
**Junior Cody Hussey (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) has posted the eighth-best time in the 1650 free (17:30.97) and the 22nd-best time in the 500 free (5:07.97). He finished eighth in the 1650 free and 13th in the 500 last season.
Chatham
**First-year DaVon Saunders (Turtle Creek, Pa./Woodland Hills) will be the Cougars' first-ever male competitor at the PAC Championships.
Grove City
**Junior Jeremy Kim (Frederick, Md./New Life Christian) owns the event's third-best time in the 100 fly (52.62) and fourth-fastest time in the 200 fly (1:57.80). He also has top-10 swims in the 1650 free (5th, 17:17.83), the 200 free (6th, 1:46.90) and the 400 IM (9th, 4:29.22). Kim claimed his second-straight PAC title in the 200 fly last season while also winning the 500 free and finishing fourth in the 200 free.
**Freshman Rhys Dickhudt (Troy, Mich./Bloomfield Christian) holds the event's top time in the 200 fly (1:57.16), has registered the second-fastest time in the 100 fly (52.39) and holds additional top-10 times in the 50 free (8th, 22.26), the 500 free (8th, 4:50.71) and the 100 breast (9th, 1:02.23).
Saint Vincent
**Junior Xander Emili (Anchorage, Alaska/South Anchorage) has the event's second-fastest time in the 200 fly (1:57.38), third-best time in the 200 IM (1:57.46) and fourth-fastest times in the 100 fly (52.78) and the 400 IM (4:23.85). He posted third-place finishes in the 200 fly and 200 IM last season.
**Saint Vincent sophomore Alex Bolen (Pitcairn, Pa./Gateway) will carry the top time in the 1650 free (16:44.87) into this year's event. He is also seventh in the 200 free (1:46.90) and holds additional top-10 times in the 400 IM (8th, 4:28.97) and the the 500 free (9th, 4:50.81). Bolen swam to third-place finishes in the 500 free and 1650 free last season.
W&J
**Junior Nicholas Willison (Rockford, Mich./Rockford) has posted top-10 times in the 200 back (8th, 1:59.73) and the 100 back (9th, 54.79) and has the 13th-best time in the (50 free (22.47). He finished third in the 200 back and 400 IM last season.
**Freshman Jack King (Atlanta, Ga./Marist School) holds top-25 times in the the 200 fly (10th, 2:05.20), the 400 IM (11th, 4:32.12) and the 500 free (21st, 5:05.34).
Westminster
**Freshman Luke Simmons (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) will make his PAC Championships debut carrying the event's best times in the 200 IM (1:56.36) and 400 IM (4:11.95). He also holds the fourth-fastest time in the 200 back (1:51.61).
**Sophomore Brad Kolesar (West Mifflin, Pa./West Mifflin) has the event's fastest time in the 100 fly (51.44), second-best time in the 500 free (4:45.15) and third-fastest time in the 200 fly (1:57.66). Last season he won an individual PAC title in the 100 fly and finished second in the 200 fly while swimming on the Titan's winning 200 medley and 400 medley relays.
W&J's Vasko looking to continue streak
W&J junior Josh Vasko (McKeesport, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) claimed PAC titles in both the one- (434.95) and three-meter (399.45) events at last year's league championships, earning his second-straight conference crown on the one-meter board and second-straight PAC Diver of the Year award. Vasko is looking to become the first to win three-straight titles on the one-meter board since Grove City's Joe Riddell swept both events from 2006-08.
Final Championships for Westminster's Klamut
Rob Klamut, in his 31st season as Westminster's head swimming and diving coach, announced in September he will step down following the completion of the season to work as the Major Gifts Officer in the College's Institutional Advancement department. He has led the Titans to a combined 10 PAC titles (6 men, 4 women) since joining the league in 2003.
The Grove City College women's swimming and diving squad will be looking to secure its eighth-straight Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) team title at the 2015-16 PAC Swimming and Diving Championships, scheduled for Wednesday-Saturday, February 10-13.
The conference championships are being held in conjunction with Grove City's 26th annual James E. Longnecker Swimming and Diving Invitational and the 10th annual Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championships at the James E. Longnecker Competition Pool. Longnecker Pool has been the home of the league's swimming and diving championships since 1990.
On Wednesday, the preliminaries in the women's one-meter and men's three-meter diving events will begin at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, preliminary heats for all swimming events will begin at 10 a.m. with event finals starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Event finals are scheduled to get underway at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. Admission to each morning's preliminary rounds is $6.00, while admission to each evening's finals is $8.00. Heat sheets are $4.00 per session.
This year's event marks the 31st anniversary of the PAC Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Last year's Championships
Grove City captured its seventh-straight PAC title last year by rallying past Westminster College during the final night of action. Grove City finished with 808.5 team points while Westminster totaled 802. The Titans held a 523-519 lead at the conclusion of Friday's Championship finals.
Grove City trailed by as many as 23 points on the event's final day before claiming its conference-leading 13th team title after winning the Championship's final event, the 400 free relay, with a time of three minutes, 31.62 seconds. The victory in the 400 free relay was Grove City's eighth-straight at the league championships.
Washington & Jefferson College finished in third place with 446 points. Saint Vincent College finished fourth with 425.5 points and was followed by Chatham University (287) in fifth and Bethany College (184) in sixth.
Last season's PAC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year honors went to Grove City seventh-year Dave Fritz for the fifth time since the 2010 season. W&J's Vic Galati, in his ninth year with the Presidents, swept the PAC's Diving Coach of the Year awards last season. He is a combined 11-time winner of the league's Diving Coach of the Year awards.
Westminster's Douds to defend PAC Swimmer of the Year award
Sophomore Megan Douds (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) became the fourth Titan to earn PAC Women's Swimmer of the Year honors after claiming the award last season. The first freshman to earn the league's top honor since W&J's Kaitlyn (Orstein) Fife in 2005, Douds swam to individual PAC titles in the 100 fly (56.76) and 200 fly (2:07.57) and posted a third-place finish in the 50 free (24.13). She also swam on the Titans' winning 400 medley relay (3:55.74), their second-place 800 free (7:54.99) and 200 free (1:38.28) relays and third-place 400 free (3:37.25) relay. She will look to become the league's first back-to-back Swimmer of the Year award winner since W&J's (Orstein) Fife won four straight from 2005-08. Douds currently owns the event's top times in the 100 fly (59.14) and 200 fly (2:06.69) and is tied with the fifth-fastest time in the 50 free (24.91).
Grove City senior Megan Bilko (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), the PAC Women's Swimmer of the Year award winner in 2014, owns the meet's fastest times in the 200 free (1:53.47), the 500 free (B-cut, 4:59.12), the 1650 free (B-cut, 17:13.54) and the 400 IM (B-cut, 4:28.95) while holding top-five times in the 100 free (3rd, 53.61) and the 200 IM (4th, 2:16.77). Bilko won individual PAC titles in the 500 free, the 1650 free and the 400 IM while swimming on the Wolverines' winning 400 medley, 400 free and 800 free relays at the 2014 Championships.
Swimmers to watch for
Bethany
**Junior Christine Pray (Canton, Mich./Canton) has the event's ninth-fastest time in the 1650 free (19:17.93) and holds additional top-25 times in the 400 IM (15th, 5:07.78) and the 500 free (21st, 5:41.78).
**Sophomore Alaina Geer (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield Area) owns top-20 times in the 200 back (15th, 2:26.55) and the 100 back (19th, 1:07.75).
Chatham
**First-year Aurelia Sheehan (Pittsburgh,Pa./North Hills) enters the meet with top-five times in the 200 free (3rd, 1:55.24), the 100 free (5th, 54.30) and the 500 free (5th, 5:12.64).
**Junior Elina Lankinen (Espoo, Finland/Cetus) owns top-10 times in the 100 breast (5th, 1:10.44) and the 200 breast (6th, 2:32.64) and is 12th in the 200 IM (2:21.30). She finished third in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast last season.
Grove City
**Junior Megan Smith (Tyler, Texas/Kolbe Academy) has the event's top time in the 200 breast (2:28.01), the second-fastest time in the 400 IM (4:40.26) and has posted additional top-10 times in the 1650 free (3rd, 17:55.67), the 500 free (4th, 5:12.17) and 200 free (10th, 2:02.07). In 2015, Smith won PAC titles in the 400 IM, the 500 free and the 1650 free while swimming on Grove City's winning 400 free and 800 free relays.
**Junior Abby Jank (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) has posted top-five times in the 100 free (2nd, 53.45), the 50 free (3rd, 24.79) and the 200 free (4th, 1:56.04). Last season, she won the 200 free PAC title, finished second in the 100 free and fifth in the 50 free while swimming on Grove City's winning 400 free and 800 free relays.
Saint Vincent
**Sophomore Kelly Kramer (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) has the event's top times in the 100 back (1:00.58) and the 200 back (2:11.30) and claims top-10 times in the 200 IM (2nd, 2:14.24), the 200 breast (3rd, 2:31.38), the 400 IM (3rd, 4:45.20) and 100 breast (9th, 1:11.15).
**Freshman Maddie Bartrug (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) enters the Championships with the event's fastest time in the 100 free (53.39), second-best time in the 200 free (1:55.00), third-best times in the 500 free (5:10.23) and 100 fly (59.7) and the fourth-fastest time in the 50 free (24.91).
W&J
**Sophomore Alexis Glenn (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) has top-10 times in the the 100 back (5th, 1:02.50), the 200 back (5th, 2:15.31) and the 100 fly (7th, 1:01.90). She finished seventh in the 100 back and eighth in the 100 fly and 200 back last season.
**Junior Laura Travers (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson) owns the event's seventh-fastest time in the 200 free (2:00.61) and has additional top-20 times in the 500 free (10th, 5:32.10) and the 100 free (16th, 56.79).
Westminster
**Junior Anne Tillie (Fallston, Md./Fallston) has the event's second-best times in the 500 free (5:10.11) and the 1650 free (17:49.91) and holds the fifth-fastest times in the 400 IM (4:54.67) and the 200 free (1:56.51). She finished fourth in the 200 free, fifth in the 1650 free and ninth in the 500 free last season.
**Junior Sam Tower (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) holds the event's second-best time in the 200 breast (2:30.44) and third-fastest times in the 200 IM (2:15.56) and the 100 breast (1:09.09). She won individual PAC titles in the 100 breast and the 200 breast, finished third in the 200 IM and swam on the Titans' winning 400 medley relay last season.
Diver of the Year award up for grabs
This year's league championships will be without one its most decorated divers in recent history. W&J's Jennifer Suder (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) earned her third-straight PAC Diver of the Year award last season after winning her third-straight conference title on the three-meter board with a winning score of 493.85 points. She also won the one-meter title with a PAC Championship meet record score of 470.80.
Divers to watch for
Bethany
**Freshman Mia Judulang (Cupertino, Calif./Monta Vista) will make her PAC Championships debut after capturing a win in five of six competitions this season. The Bison have not had a top-three diver at the league championships since Desiree Finley registered a third-place finish on the on the one-meter board in 2009.
Chatham
**Senior Alexis Rectenwald (Pittsburgh, Pa./Penn Hills) headlines a talented group vying for this year's PAC Women's Diver of the Year award. She won the individual title on the one-meter board (452.55) in 2014 and finished second and third, respectively, in the three- and one-meter events last season.
**Junior Emily Hinson (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) was fourth on the one-meter board and fifth on the three-meter board in 2015. She posted a third-place finish in the one-meter event in 2014.
Grove City
**Junior Caroline Eckendorf (Fairview, Pa./Fairview) posted back-to-back runner-up finishes on the three-meter board in 2013 and 2014 while placing third on the one-meter board in 2013. She finished fourth in both events last season.
**Junior Grace Klimek (Oakdale, Pa./South Fayette) scored sixth-place finishes on both the one- and three-meter boards in 2015. She was also the sixth-place finisher in the three-meter event in 2014.
W&J
**Junior Haley Ashner (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) posted a third-place finish on the three-meter board in 2014 and was seventh in both the one- and three-meter events in 2015.
**Freshman Kaitlyn Pawcio (Johnstown, Pa./Westmont Hilltop) will make her PAC Championships debut in 2016.
Westminster
**Sophomore Courtney Hemmelgarn (Kettering, Ohio/Kettering Fairmont) and freshman Hannah McMichael (Whitney, Pa./Greater Latrobe) will look to earn a top-three finish for the Titans for the first time since joining the league in 2003.