Franklin & Marshall Men
Eric Lang's victory in the 200-yard IM highlighted Franklin & Marshall's competition at Day One of the Centennial Conference (CC) Swimming Championships, completed tonight in Gettysburg. At the end of the second session, of which there are six, the Diplomats are in fourth with 154.5 points while Gettysburg holds the lead with 207.
Lang's victory comes after he recorded the second-fastest qualifying time in this morning's preliminaries. The sophomore left no room for doubt in the finals, clocking a time of 1:52.46 to win by more than 1.5 seconds. His time, among the top 25 posted in Division III this year, also meets the NCAA B cut for national competition.
Ryan Caffrey turned in a quality performance of his own in the same event, finishing in 1:55.68 to earn fourth place and 15 points. Jack Currie's time of 1:59.04 tied him for second in the B final and 10th overall.
The Diplomats earned a pair of fourth-place finishes in the two relays of the night. In the 200-yard freestyle relay, Caffrey joined Daniel Sanders, David Burton, and Matthew Murphy to finish in 1:25.67. In the 400-yard medley relay, Caffrey, Sanders, Richard Perry, and Timothy Gould combined to take fourth with a time of 3:28.05.
Perry also saw action in the 500-yard freestyle, taking seventh after clocking a time of 4:46.52 in the finals. Patrick Greaney's time of 4:44.78 was good for third in the B final and 11th overall, while Jordan Alter and Reeves Connolly took 13th and 14th, respectively.
Sanders competed for gold in the 50-yard freestyle, coming in eighth with a time of 21.95. Burton's time of 22.11 in the B final placed him in 16th.
The third session of the championships opens tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Preliminaries will be contested in the 400-yard IM, 100-yard butterfly, 200-yard freestyle, 100-yard breaststroke, and the 100-yard backstroke. Finals will be held during the evening session, set to begin at 6:00 p.m.
Franklin & Marshall Women
Franklin & Marshall's women's swimming team used a balanced effort to finish Day One of the Centennial Conference (CC) Championships in third place. After the second of six sessions, Ursinus leads with 254 points while Gettysburg holds second with 166 followed by the Diplomats in third with 158.
Becca Meyers recorded the top finish of the day for F&M, taking second place in the 500-yard freestyle. The junior finished in 4:59.51 to earn silver and 17 points for the Diplomats. Grace Pereles took first in the consolation final, earning ninth place overall with a time of 5:08.31, and Breann Cavanagh rounded out Diplomat representation in the event by taking 13th in 5:14.66.
F&M used a quality team effort in the 400-yard medley relay as Anna Hess, Melissa Mullin, Kellen McDonald, and Jillian Albus teamed up to take third with a time of 3:59.89. Pereles, Taylor Mateja, Michelle Wall, and Courtney Collins finished third in the B final to take 11th overall.
Albus, Collins, Cavanagh, and Mateja gained further team success in the 200-yard freestyle relay, taking fifth in 1:39.92. The team of Alyson Campbell, Diane Wagner, Stephanie Schick, and Katie Schick came in 13th with a time of 1:42.44.
Mullin turned in a strong individual effort as well, taking sixth in the 200-yard IM with a time of 2:11.51. Collins logged a time of 2:12.00 to take eighth in the same event. McDonald won the B final to take ninth place with a time of 2:11.12, while Hess took 15th in 2:13.58.
Albus earned individual honors of her own in the 50-yard freestyle. Her finals time of 24.61 was good for sixth.
