Milligan College's swimming team opened the 2016-17 season well this weekend, competing at the LWC Fall Frenzy hosted by Lindsey Wilson College. The Buffs earned over 10 national cuts as well as a few race wins.
The event was a two-day, three-session meet featuring five teams on both the men's and women's sides. Milligan's women took fourth, Milligan's men took third, and the two combined for fourth with a total of 790 points.
The Buffs opened the season with a bang. On Friday's opening session, they took home four first places among the five competing schools. Parker Teliszewski, Grant Callahan, Sterling Burnett and Matthew McFalls earned a national A cut in the 200 yard freestyle relay with a time of 1:28.57. The foursome would also get a national A cut time in the 400 yard medley relay with a time of 3:47.81.
Burnett won the 200 yard individual medley with a time of 2:04, good enough for a national B cut, and he also got an individual national cut in the 100 backstroke. McFalls was the winner in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 22.76.
Similar to the men's team, the Milligan women came away on Friday with a win in a relay and a few other top individual performances. Casey Knapp, Anna Hathcock, Emily Mark and Sara Farmer won the 400 yard medley relay with a national A cut time of 4:37.20, and this was followed by Isabel Siegel, Hathcock, Mark and Farmer taking third in the 200 free relay. They earned a national A cut in the event with a time of 1:48.84.
Individually, Alyssa Boyér took third in the 500 yard freestyle with a time of 5:55, and Farmer placed first in the 50 yard freestyle with a time of 25.92.
The success continued into Saturday's morning session as the men's 200 medley relay of Burnett, Callahan, Teliszewski and McFalls got second with a national cut time of 1:41.16. The men's 200 yard free relay also achieved a national cut with a time of 1:50.18.
Teliszewski got a best time in the 100 fly with a 55:29. Taking fifth, and Burnett won the 100 back with a time of 53.88.
Among the Milligan women, Hathcock got second in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:08.49, Siegel got fourth in the 200 free with a time of 2:12.66, and Farmer won the 100 back with a 1:02.14, earning a national A cut.
Both the Milligan men and women got national cuts in the 800 free relay as the men (Brian Sackett Jr., Burnett, Callahan and McFalls) did so with a time of 7:41.91, and Siegel, Hathcock, Walker and Boyér did so with a 9:06.62.
The same theme Saturday morning continued into Saturday evening in the event's final session as Milligan added to its early-season collection of high marks. Burnett got first place in the 100 free with a time of 48.86, a national B cut. McFalls got third place in that same event with a national B cut time of 49.92.
Burnett later got second in the 200 breaststroke with a 2:18.23, and the men's 400 free relay got third with a time of 3:22.02.
The Milligan women capped off the event with Farmer taking third in the 100 free with a 57.68 for a national B cut, and Boyér taking second in the mile/1650 with a time of 20:48. Milligan's 400 free relay got a national cut with a time of 4:09.16.
Milligan will continue the season with its first home meet of 2016 as they host King University and Appalachian Athletic Conference member St. Andrews University on Friday, Oct. 14. Events are scheduled to start at 4 p.m.
